FG Cannot Enforce Illegally Altered Tax Reform Laws – Chief J. K. Gadzama

Bola Tinubu and Kashim Shettima

Senior Advocates of Nigeria, SANs, have shared reasons why the Federal Government should not proceed with its plan to commence the enforcement of new tax laws from January 1, 2026. They recently revealed that the commencement would amount to an affront on the rule of law, despite alleged post-passage alterations to the legislation.

According to Mr. Mohammed Abeny, SAN, the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, saying that even President Bola Tinubu cannot stop the January 1 commencement date of the new tax law is “reckless talk and a disregard to rule of law in governance.”

Chief J. K. Gadzama, SAN, added that the discrepancies between the version of the tax laws passed by the National Assembly and the official gazetted copy can easily trigger a major constitutional and legal crisis.

Gadzama said, “Section 58 of the 1999 Constitution lays out the precise process for how a bill becomes law. It states that once the President gives assent (or the National Assembly overrides a veto), the Clerk of the National Assembly shall cause the Act to be published in the Official Gazette.

The gazetted version is the definitive, authentic text of the law. If the gazetted version differs from the one passed, it means the constitutional process has been breached.

The ‘law’ in the public domain is not the law as legitimately made.

Which version is the true law? Citizens, businesses, and the judiciary cannot know with certainty what the law says. This undermines the rule of law and the principle that laws must be accessible and predictable.

A court could declare the gazetted version (or parts of it) invalid or null and void if it is proven to be materially different from the version passed. This would create a legal vacuum for tax matters the law intended to address.”

WOW.