‘Wait For Lawmakers’ Findings On Alleged Tax Law Discrepancies,’ Oyedele Tells Nigerians

The Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Taiwo Oyedele, has urged Nigerians to exercise patience and await the outcome of investigations by the House of Representatives into alleged discrepancies in the recently gazetted tax laws.

The call followed claims by the lawmaker representing Kebbe/Tambuwal federal constituency of Sokoto State, Abdussamad Dasuki, who alleged last Wednesday that the tax laws gazetted and made available to the public differ from those passed by the National Assembly.

In response, the House of Representatives set up a seven-member committee to probe the allegation.

Speaking on Channels Television on Monday, Oyedele said lawmakers were best placed to clarify the matter since they are the custodians of the version transmitted to President Bola Tinubu for assent.

“Let’s wait for the findings of the lawmakers. If, indeed, there were alterations,” he said.

“And if those alterations were substantial, meaning they were not merely editorial, then the next step would be to see how best to address those issues.”

Oyedele stressed that claims of discrepancies cannot be conclusively established without access to both the gazetted version and the harmonised bill passed by the National Assembly.

“We have what is gazetted; we don’t have what was passed,” he said. “The official harmonised bills certified by the Clerk and sent to the President are not in the public domain. That is a fundamental issue people need to be aware of.”

According to him, only the National Assembly can authoritatively state what was transmitted for presidential assent, noting that it must be the harmonised version, not separate House or Senate drafts.

“So, I can’t say that I have it because I don’t. I only have what was presented to Mr President to sign,” he added.

Oyedele also dismissed reports and documents circulating in the media alleging specific contentious provisions, describing them as fake.

“What has been circulating and widely reported by many media organisations is actually fake,” he said, explaining that some of the referenced provisions appeared only in draft versions and not in the final gazette.

He disclosed that he contacted a member of the House committee after noticing references to a supposed provision requiring a 20 per cent deposit, which he said does not exist in the final gazetted law.

“I reached out, and the lawmaker said they haven’t even met. So, some people decided to write the report of the committee before the committee met, and it circulated everywhere,” Oyedele said.

He cautioned against speculation and urged that the investigative process be allowed to run its course.

Oyedele further noted that the issue goes beyond tax reforms and speaks to the integrity of Nigeria’s legislative process.

“This is not just about the tax reform laws, it’s about our processes,” he said, adding that legislation should be handled with the same level of security and quality assurance as currency printing or ballot production.

He recalled that Nigeria has previously faced similar situations with multiple versions of laws, citing the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) as examples.

According to him, allowing the House committee to complete its work is crucial to strengthening trust, transparency, and accountability in the legislative process.