A Nigerian lawmaker has raised serious allegations that tax laws, after being passed by the National Assembly, have been altered before being officially gazetted. Representative Abdussamad Dasuki brought this discrepancy to the attention of his colleagues during a plenary session, citing significant differences between the version approved by both the Senate and the House of Representatives and the circulated gazetted copy.

Dasuki described the alleged alteration as a breach of constitutional procedure and a violation of the legislative process. He emphasized that his privilege as a member of the House had been compromised, as the document now presented to the public does not reflect the specific clauses and votes cast during the legislative debates and approvals.

He detailed his diligent efforts to compare the gazetted version with the official records of both legislative chambers, including the harmonized version agreed upon by the Senate and the House. The lawmaker asserted that the printed laws circulating and being disseminated to the public do not match the authenticated versions that received legislative assent.

“What was passed on this floor is not what was gazetted,” Dasuki stated, highlighting the gravity of the situation. He urged the Speaker to meticulously review the harmonized version agreed upon by the legislative bodies and compare it with the content of the official gazette to identify the inconsistencies.

The legislator further explained that the version of the tax laws currently accessible to Nigerians, and reportedly being promoted by the Ministry of Information, diverges from what was debated and approved in the National Assembly. This, he contends, misrepresents the legislative intent and outcome to the citizenry.

In response to these alarming claims, the Speaker of the House, Honourable Tajudeen Abbas, assured the chamber that the matter would be thoroughly investigated. He committed to addressing the issue promptly in the best interest of the nation and to uphold the integrity of the legislative process, promising further review by the Committee of the Whole.

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Keywords: tax laws alteration, National Assembly, Abdussamad Dasuki, gazetted laws, legislative process, constitutional breach, House of Representatives, Nigeria