Dare Babalola
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has raised alarm over a grave constitutional issue surrounding the Tax Laws, stating that the gazetted version does not reflect the version passed by the National Assembly.
He insisted that any law not gazetted the way it is passed is a nullity and amounts to forgery.
Atiku, in a statement shared on his X handle on Sunday, warned that the discrepancy threatens the integrity of Nigeria’s legislative process.
He said, “The confirmation by the Senate that the gazetted version of the Tinubu Tax Act does not reflect what was duly passed by the National Assembly raises a grave constitutional issue. A law that was never passed in the form in which it was published is not law. It is a nullity.”
He explained that the Constitution provides a clear process for lawmaking, and that administrative publication alone cannot rectify any deviation from legislative approval.
“Under Section 58 of the 1999 Constitution, the lawmaking process is clear and exclusive: passage by both chambers, presidential assent, and only then gazetting. Gazetting is an administrative act of publication; it does not create law, amend law, or cure illegality. Where a gazette misrepresents legislative approval, it has no legal force.”
Atiku also condemned any post-passage alteration to legislation without proper legislative approval, describing it as unlawful.
“Any post-passage insertion, deletion, or modification of a bill without legislative approval amounts in law to forgery, not a clerical error. No administrative directive by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, or the Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas, can validate such a defect or justify a re-gazetting without re-passage and fresh presidential assent.”
He warned against attempts to rush re-gazetting while stalling proper legislative scrutiny.
“The attempt to rush a re-gazetting while stalling legislative investigation undermines parliamentary oversight and sets a dangerous precedent. Illegality cannot be cured by speed. The only lawful path is fresh legislative consideration, re-passage in identical form by both chambers, fresh assent, and proper gazetting.”
Atiku added that his position was not against tax reform but a defence of constitutional order and legislative integrity.
“This is not opposition to tax reform. It is a defence of the integrity of the legislative process and a rejection of any attempt to normalise constitutional breaches through procedural shortcuts.”
Recall that the former presidential candidate, last week Tuesday, called for the immediate suspension and investigation of the tax laws, describing the alleged post-passage alterations as “illegal and unauthorised” and an assault on constitutional democracy.
“This overreach undermines legislative supremacy and reveals a government more interested in extraction than empowerment,” he said.
