The Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, has called for suspension of the Tax Reform Acts over alleged alteration of some sections in the gazetted version, as opposed to what was passed by the National Assembly.
Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar also called for the immediate suspension of the new tax laws over alleged alterations made after passage by the National Assembly just as he tasked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to investigate the “illegal and unauthorised alterations.
He said the alleged changes represent “a brazen act of treason against the Nigerian people and a direct assault on our constitutional democracy.”
Abubakar accused the executive of engaging in what he called a “draconian overreach” that undermines legislative supremacy and prioritises revenue extraction over citizens’ welfare.
This came as the two chambers of the National Assembly yesterday, ignored the alteration controversies trailing the tax reform acts, which implementation is scheduled to start on January 1, 2026, and proceeded on Christmas and New Year break that will end on January 27, 2026.
The lawmakers, however, approved the repeal and re-enactment of the 2024 and 2025 budgets. They also approved N43.561 trillion for 2024 and N48.316 trillion for 2025, and extended implementation period of the 2025 Appropriation Bill to March 31, 2026.
This was as the N58 trillion Appropriation Bill for 2026 entered second reading at the Senate.
Last week, a member of the House of Representatives Mr. Abdulsamad Dasuki, raised alarm over alleged differences between the tax laws passed by the National Assembly and the gazetted version.
Following the lawmaker’s disclosure, the NBA, in a statement, yesterday, said the development raises “grave concerns about the integrity, transparency, and credibility of Nigeria’s legislative process” and called for “a comprehensive, open, and transparent investigation be conducted to clarify the circumstances surrounding the enactment of the laws.
“Until these issues are fully examined and resolved, all plans for implementation of the Tax Reform Acts should be immediately suspended,” the NBA said in a statement by its president, Afam Osigwe.
Osigwe said the allegations “strike at the very heart of constitutional governance and call into question the procedural sanctity that must attend law-making in a democratic society.”
The NBA also cautioned that the controversy could have economic implications, noting that such “legal and policy uncertainty of this magnitude have far-reaching consequences.
“It unsettles the business environment, erodes investor confidence, and creates unpredictability for individuals, businesses, and institutions required to comply with the law.”
President Bola Tinubu signed the four tax reform bills in June, ending months of scrutiny and intense debates. The four bills, now laws, were the Nigeria Tax Bill, the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill, and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Bill.
The Federal Government fixed January 1, 2026, for the implementation of the laws, but the move has stirred controversy in the country.
Opposition leaders and groups, including Peter Obi of the Labour Party, LP; the African Democratic Party, ADC, have asked the Federal Government to stop implementation of the law.
However, chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Taiwo Oyedele, has defended the reforms and said the Federal Government was not introducing new laws.
The Federal Government argued these tax laws will transform Nigeria’s fiscal landscape, eliminate burdensome taxes, reduce tax compliance complexities, and foster domestic productivity, among others.
Atiku calls for suspension of new tax laws
On his part, Atiku alleged that new provisions granting arrest powers, property seizure, and enforcement sales without court orders were inserted without legislative consent.
According to him, these measures “transform tax collectors into quasi-law enforcement agencies” and strip Nigerians of due process protections deliberately preserved by lawmakers.
Abubakar further claimed that additional changes increased the financial burden on citizens through mandatory security deposits, compound interest on tax debts, stricter reporting requirements, and foreign currency computation for petroleum operations.
The former vice-president also alleged that accountability mechanisms, including reporting obligations to the national assembly and ministerial oversight provisions, were removed from the laws.
He warned that stripping away oversight while expanding executive power is “a hallmark of authoritarian governance”.
Abubakar said the controversy exposes a government more focused on imposing tax burdens than on addressing poverty, unemployment, and rising inflation.
He also said that sustainable revenue generation comes from empowering citizens and expanding the tax base, not from “punitive taxation and erosion of legal protections.
