The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, has constituted a seven-member ad-hoc committee to investigate alleged discrepancies between tax bills passed by the National Assembly and the versions eventually assented to and gazetted.
The move followed a Point of Privilege raised on the House floor by Abdulsammad Dasuki, a lawmaker representing Sokoto State, who claimed that the publicly available tax laws differed materially from what was debated and approved by lawmakers.
The committee will be chaired by Muktar Aliyu Betara, Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations. Other members include former Deputy Speaker Ahmed Idris Wase, Sada Soli, James Abiodun Faleke, Fred Agbedi, Babajimi Benson, and Iduma Igariwey. Its mandate is to scrutinize the legislative process that led to the gazetting of the tax laws and determine if the final documents differ from the versions passed by both chambers of the National Assembly.
Speaking on Wednesday under Order Six, Rule Two of the House Rules, Dasuki told the House that his legislative privilege had been violated. He explained that after reviewing the gazetted copies alongside the Votes and Proceedings and harmonized versions approved by both chambers, he identified inconsistencies.
“I was here, I gave my vote, and it was counted, yet I am seeing something completely different,” Dasuki said.
He noted that copies of the gazetted laws obtained from the Ministry of Information did not match the versions passed by the House and Senate. Dasuki emphasized that his concern was not about moving a motion but about alerting the legislature to what he described as a serious breach of legislative procedure and constitutional provisions.
Dasuki called on the Speaker to ensure that all relevant documents—including the harmonized versions, Votes and Proceedings of both chambers, and the gazetted copies—are presented to the Committee of the Whole for full scrutiny by lawmakers. He warned that allowing laws that differ from those approved on the House floor to reach the public would undermine the credibility of the legislature.
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In response, Speaker Abbas acknowledged the Point of Privilege and assured members that appropriate measures would be taken to address the issue. The formation of the ad-hoc committee is expected to bring clarity to the controversy and reinforce the integrity of the legislative process.
