The Presidency has refuted claims that portions of the newly enacted tax reform laws were secretly altered, insisting all actions followed the proper legal and legislative process.

This comes as former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Labour Party 2023 presidential candidate Peter Obi, and several civil society groups demand a suspension of the laws, citing alleged discrepancies between versions passed by the National Assembly and those gazetted.

The tax reforms, signed by President Bola Tinubu, are set to take effect on January 1, 2026, and include the Nigeria Tax Act, the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Act, all operating under the Nigeria Revenue Service. According to the government, the changes aim to “simplify tax compliance, expand the tax base, eliminate overlapping taxes, and modernise revenue collection across federal, state, and local governments.”

Allegations arose after House member Abdussamad Dasuki (PDP, Sokoto) claimed that the gazetted versions contained several alterations, including new coercive clauses such as arrest powers, garnishee orders without court approval, and compulsory USD computation, which were not part of the versions ratified by parliament. Dasuki warned that these could make the laws legally vulnerable.

Reacting, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, dismissed the claims as “opposition noise” and stressed that “Opposition elements can say whatever they want, even when it is very obvious to every rational person that all they seek to do every time is to pollute the waters and create a toxic environment around policy issues.” He confirmed that the laws were enacted through due process and will be implemented as scheduled.

The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, added: “The House of Representatives, where this allegation emanated from, has set up a committee to investigate. We would like to wait for the outcome of the investigation before we make any comment… In fact, the law is already being implemented, and by January 1, it will come fully into effect, so there is no point in demanding the suspension of the implementation. Some elements of the law are already being implemented.”

Atiku called for a temporary halt to the rollout, arguing that “Something is wrong with this country. It is a very serious issue. Something has been appended to the law, and some people have gone ahead to alter it. This is falsification, and it is criminal. The big question is: what else has been doctored? What else has been falsified? This is dangerous, and it affirms the state capture the opposition warned about in our joint statement.”

Peter Obi also condemned the alleged alterations, calling them “a serious matter that strikes at the core of constitutional governance and reveals the extent of our institutional decay.” He added: “These include an outrageous requirement for a mandatory 20 per cent deposit before appeals can be heard in court, asset sales without judicial oversight, and the granting of arrest powers to tax authorities. Who made these alterations? All of this must be made public. Nigerians need to understand what was signed, what was passed, and what was formally recorded. We cannot continue to ask citizens to pay more taxes while trust in governance collapses.”

The African Democratic Congress described the laws as “draconian” and called for an immediate suspension and public inquiry to determine the extent of the alleged changes. The Take-It-Back Movement also joined the call, warning that the tax reforms are “anti-people and illegitimate,” targeting entrepreneurs, young workers, and informal sector participants.

Despite these criticisms, the government insists implementation will proceed as planned, while the House ad hoc committee investigates the claims.