The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, on Thursday announced the constitution of a seven-member ad-hoc committee to investigate allegations of discrepancies between tax bills passed by the National Assembly and the versions later assented to and gazetted.
The decision followed a Point of Privilege raised on the floor of the House by a lawmaker from Sokoto State, Abdulsammad Dasuki, who alleged that the published tax laws did not reflect what lawmakers debated and approved.
The ad-hoc committee will be chaired by the Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, Muktar Aliyu Betara. Other members include former Deputy Speaker Ahmed Idris Wase, Sada Soli, James Abiodun Faleke, Fred Agbedi, Babajimi Benson, and Iduma Igariwey.
The committee is mandated to review the legislative process that led to the gazetting of the tax laws and ascertain whether the final documents differ from the versions passed by both chambers of the National Assembly.
Raising the matter under Order Six, Rule Two of the House Rules, Dasuki said his legislative privilege had been breached, insisting that the contents of the gazetted tax laws were materially different from those approved by lawmakers.
He explained that after spending three days reviewing the gazetted copies alongside the Votes and Proceedings of the House and the harmonised versions adopted by both chambers, he discovered inconsistencies.
“I was here, I gave my vote and it was counted, and I am seeing something completely different,” Dasuki said.
The lawmaker further disclosed that copies of the gazetted laws obtained from the Ministry of Information did not align with what was passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Dasuki stressed that his intervention was not to move a motion but to draw attention to what he described as a serious violation of legislative procedure and constitutional provisions.
He urged the Speaker to ensure that all relevant documents — including the harmonised bills, Votes and Proceedings of both chambers, and the gazetted copies in circulation — are presented before the Committee of the Whole for scrutiny.
He warned that allowing laws different from those duly passed by the National Assembly to be presented to Nigerians would undermine the credibility of the legislature.
“This is a breach of the Constitution and our laws, and it should not be taken lightly by this House,” he said.
Responding, Speaker Abbas acknowledged the Point of Privilege and assured lawmakers that appropriate steps would be taken to address the concerns raised.
The establishment of the ad-hoc committee is expected to clarify the issues surrounding the tax laws and protect the integrity of the legislative process.