Tax Laws Alteration: Downplaying Minority Caucus Report Bad, Says Chair

The House of Representatives’ Minority Caucus Ad-hoc Committee, investigating the alleged Illegal alterations on the Gazetted Tax laws, has said downplaying its report is tantamount to calling for impunity.

The minority caucus committee, in its interim report released in Abuja over the weekend, said a comparison of the Certified True Copy made public by the House with the gazetted versions confirmed alterations, particularly in the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025.

However, in an interview, Deputy Spokesperson of the House, Hon. Philip Agbese (APC, Benue), maintained that the leadership of the National Assembly had already taken decisive steps to address all concerns regarding discrepancies in the gazetted tax laws.

Reacting to Agbese’s claim, the chairman of the committee, Hon. Afam Ogene(LP, Anambra) the interim report did not criticise the National Assembly’s work, impugn the integrity of its legislative processes, or implicate, in any way, the institution of culpability in the shocking alterations after the laws had been passed.

Ogene, in a statement on Sunday, said that the report’s factual content highlighted the concerning attempt by perpetrators of the illegal alterations to undermine the legislature’s functional integrity and independence.

This, he said, should be a concern for legislators who prioritise law-making in the public interest over transient political considerations.

“My attention has been drawn to the dismissive statement by the Deputy Spokesperson of the House of Representatives, Hon. Philip Agbese, on Saturday, said that the interim report by the Minority Caucus Ad-hoc Committee, which I chair, on alleged alterations in the Tax Reforms Acts has been overtaken by events, following the release of the Certified True Copies (CTCs) of the laws.

“I would have dismissed the comments as mere personal viewpoint of a colleague, but having previously served as Deputy Spokesperson of the 7th House of Representatives, 15 years ago, I am cognisant of the responsibilities and public expectations attendant to such a position, particularly in communicating on behalf of and upholding the integrity of the legislative institution and democratic processes.

“I am therefore perplexed as to why he has assumed the role of spokesperson for the executive in this matter. For context and clarity, the Minority Caucus Ad-hoc Committee’s interim report did not criticise the National Assembly’s work, impugn the integrity of its legislative processes, or in any way implicate the institution in culpability for the shocking alterations after the laws had been passed.

“It should be noted that while the Minority Caucus of the House of Representatives established a Committee for an independent fact-finding exercise, consistent with parliamentary best practices,  the House leadership had earlier constituted another Committee, chaired by Rt. Hon. Muktar Aliyu Betara, with a similar mandate to review the Tax Acts as passed by the House and the purported gazetted version, with the aim of identifying discrepancies and verifying the accuracy of the gazetted version.

“This raises the question: if, as Hon. Agbase claims, the alleged alterations in the Tax Reforms Acts have been overtaken by events following the release of the Certified True Copies (CTCs), why is the Betara Committee still sitting and has not been dissolved by the House?

“Speaking in the manner that Agbase has spoken will only continue to enable such unacceptable behaviour that ought to attract the collective upbraid of all lawmakers irrespective of partisan divide.

“I trust, however, that the National Assembly’s leadership, with a nationalist Speaker Abbas Tajudeen on the driving seat, will continue to uphold the Legislature’s independence and protect the public interest,” Ogene added.

Meanwhile, spokesperson of the House, Hon. Akin Rotimi, said the authority to constitute an ad hoc committee of the Green Chamber rests solely with the House acting in plenary, or with the Speaker exercising powers conferred under the Standing Orders.

He said no political caucus, whether majority or minority, possesses the procedural authority to establish a committee that carries the status of a parliamentary body.

Rotimi, in a statement, said any action taken by a caucus in this regard is therefore non-binding, informal and without legal or institutional consequence, as any committee constituted outside the processes prescribed by the Standing Orders lacks institutional recognition.

He therefore said any interim or final report emanating from such a caucus-led body cannot be laid before the House, cannot be received as a parliamentary document, and does not form part of the official legislative or oversight record of the National Assembly.

“The House further considers the action attributed to the Minority Caucus to be procedurally improper, inconsistent with parliamentary norms, liable to set an unwholesome precedent, and to create unnecessary public confusion, particularly since the matter has already been addressed through established parliamentary mechanisms,” Rotimi added.