The House of Representatives has made public the official versions of four newly signed tax reform laws following allegations that the legislation may have been altered after being passed by the National Assembly and signed into law by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The decision to release the documents was announced on Saturday night in a statement by Akin Rotimi, spokesperson of the House of Representatives. He said the move was taken to promote transparency and address growing public concerns over conflicting versions of the tax laws circulating online.
Concerns over the laws emerged after Abdussamad Dasuki, a member of the House, raised an alarm that the versions of the tax reform Acts made available to the public were different from what lawmakers had approved. His claim sparked widespread debate and public outrage, with some Nigerians calling for the suspension of the laws’ implementation until the matter was clarified.
The four laws involved are the Nigeria Tax Act, 2025; the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025; the Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria (Establishment) Act, 2025; and the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, 2025.
According to the statement, Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas, working with Senate President Godswill Akpabio, ordered the immediate release of the Certified True Copies (CTCs) of the Acts. The released documents include the endorsement and assent pages signed by President Tinubu, confirming their authenticity.
Rotimi explained that the action followed reports that unauthorised and misleading versions of the laws were being circulated. He said the Speaker acted swiftly after a lawmaker formally drew the House’s attention to inconsistencies found in some copies of the legislation.
Following this, the Speaker ordered an internal verification process and directed that the certified versions be released to the public to clear doubts, restore confidence, and protect the integrity of the legislative process.
The House also urged Nigerians to ignore any copies of the tax laws that are not certified by the National Assembly, stressing that such documents do not represent the official legislative record.
Rotimi added that the Clerk of the National Assembly has completed the process of aligning the certified Acts with the Federal Government Printing Press to ensure accuracy, uniformity, and consistency across all official records.
He further disclosed that hard copies of the certified tax laws have been produced and distributed to all members of the House of Representatives and the Senate, while also being made available to the public for reference.
Quoting Speaker Abbas, Rotimi said the National Assembly operates as an institution guided by records, procedures, and institutional memory, where every bill and amendment follows a clear constitutional and parliamentary process.
Abbas stressed that once a bill is passed and signed into law, its authenticity is preserved through certification and proper custody by the legislature, adding that there is no uncertainty about what constitutes the law.
The Speaker assured Nigerians that the House will remain vigilant in protecting the integrity of its legislative work, noting that the only valid and authoritative versions of the four tax reform laws are those officially certified and released by the National Assembly.
Members of the public have been advised to rely solely on the certified copies now made available.
