The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has called for the immediate suspension of Nigeria’s recently introduced tax laws, alleging that critical sections were modified after approval by the National Assembly and assent by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
In a statement issued on Saturday by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr Bolaji Abdullahi, the opposition party described the alleged alterations as a grave constitutional breach and warned that the development raises serious concerns about the centralisation of power by the Executive.
The ADC’s reaction followed a point of privilege raised on December 17 by Hon. Abdussamad Dasuki (PDP, Sokoto) during plenary at the House of Representatives. Dasuki had drawn lawmakers’ attention to alleged discrepancies between the harmonised tax bills passed by the National Assembly and the versions later released to the public and gazetted.
Citing this development, the ADC demanded an immediate halt to the implementation of the tax laws to allow the National Assembly to review the alleged changes and take appropriate corrective action.
“The African Democratic Congress has reviewed various reports which confirm doubts that the various tax laws passed by the National Assembly and signed into law by President Bola Tinubu contain substantial alterations of key provisions that were not part of the original legislation approved by the legislature,” the statement read.
According to the party, a forensic review of the original bills and the gazetted versions allegedly revealed that key accountability provisions were removed, while new clauses were inserted granting coercive powers to the Executive without judicial oversight.
The ADC claimed that one of the alleged insertions empowers the government to arrest individuals and take over their property for non-compliance with tax laws, a move the party described as alarming and unconstitutional.
While reiterating its opposition to tax measures that could worsen economic hardship for citizens and businesses, the party stressed that the matter goes beyond taxation.
“This issue reflects a mindset that shows disregard for democratic institutions and constitutional boundaries,” the statement said.
The ADC further described any post-legislative alteration of laws as a direct assault on constitutional governance, warning that such actions undermine the doctrine of separation of powers.
“Altering legislation and gazetting it after it has been passed by 469 elected representatives of the Nigerian people is indicative of totalitarian tendencies by a President seeking to concentrate power, even if it means violating the Constitution,” the party alleged.
The party called for a full investigation into the alleged forgery and demanded the swift prosecution of any government official found culpable.
“For the avoidance of doubt, under our Constitution, only the legislature has the power to make laws,” the ADC stated. “Any legislation not passed in accordance with constitutional provisions cannot stand.”
Concluding, the ADC urged the immediate suspension of all 2025 tax laws signed by President Tinubu, insisting that a comprehensive legislative review is necessary to preserve constitutional order and restore public confidence in governance.
