The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has called for the immediate suspension of President Bola Tinubu administration’s tax laws, scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2026.
The party said the call has become necessary following allegations that the final version of the law contains substantial alterations that were not in the original bill passed by the National Assembly.
Bolaji Abdullahi, the National Publicity Secretary of the ADC, said in a statement on Saturday, “Tampering with a piece of legislation after it has been passed by the National Assembly is an indication that President Tinubu intends to concentrate all powers in himself.”
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The opposition party demanded the immediate suspension of the tax laws to allow the legislature to determine the extent of the alterations made by the Tinubu administration and to take the necessary corrective actions.
The party also called for a public inquiry to investigate the circumstances surrounding the unauthorized changes to a duly passed law and to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice.
The party said it 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 forgery of key provisions that were not in the original laws passed by the legislature.
“ADC’s forensic review of the original laws and the gazetted versions has also established beyond all doubt that key accountability provisions were deleted and new provisions inserted, granting coercive powers to the Executive in the enforcement of the tax laws without recourse to the courts
“For example, one of the criminal insertions into the laws grants the Bola Tinubu government the express power to arrest and take over the property of anyone who does not comply with the tax laws.”
The party said it will not support any tax law that will further impoverish Nigerians and add more hardships to the current challenges.
“We do not support any tax that is more likely to compound the misery and hardship already faced by citizens and businesses. But this issue goes beyond taxation.
“It speaks to the criminal mindset of a government that has no ethical boundaries, has no regard for democratic institutions, and will do anything to pursue its narrow, selfish agenda.
“Altering legislation and gazetting same after it has been passed by 469 elected representatives of the Nigerian people is a direct assault on constitutional governance. More fundamentally, it is indicative of the totalitarian instincts of a President desirous of concentrating all powers of government in himself, even if it means violating the very Constitution from which he derives his authority.
“For the avoidance of doubt, under our Constitution, only the legislature can make laws. Therefore, any legislation that has not been passed according to the provisions of the Constitution cannot stand.
“To accept that the Executive could whimsically insert or remove even a punctuation mark from a piece of legislation after it has been passed by the legislature is to arrogate law-making powers to the Executive arm of government. This portends grave danger to our democracy.
“The ADC therefore called for the immediate suspension of all the 2025 tax laws signed by President Bola Tinubu to allow for a full legislative review.
“This is the only reasonable course of action if we must not give the dangerous impression that the principle of separation of powers enshrined in our Constitution can be sidestepped by the President.
“We also call for a full investigation and the immediate prosecution of any government official found culpable in the execution of this act of forgery that strikes at the very heart of our democracy,” the statement read.
