The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has asked the Federal Government to halt the implementation of the 2025 tax laws over what it called a “forgery” of some provisions.
ADC’s spokesman, Bolaji Abdullahi, accused the government of altering several parts of the tax laws, including some “criminal insertions” that grant 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 ADC therefore calls for the immediate suspension of all the 2025 tax laws signed by President Bola Tinubu to allow for a full legislative review,” the opposition party said in a statement on Saturday by Abdullahi, who is a former member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
“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.”
According to the ADC, the call became necessary after their “forensic” review of the original laws passed by the National Assembly and the gazetted versions “established beyond all doubt that key accountability provisions were deleted and new provisions inserted.”
It said this granted “coercive powers to the Executive in the enforcement of the tax laws without recourse to the courts”.
ADC believes the alleged insertions on the original laws go “beyond taxation”.
The party said, “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.”
“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 from the party led by ex-Senate President, David Mark, read in part.
President Bola Tinubu assented to the four tax reform bills in June, ending months of scrutiny and intense debates by lawmakers and Nigerians.
The four bills, now laws, were the Nigeria Tax Bill, the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill, and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment)Bill.
President Tinubu’s government picked January 2026 for the implementation of the laws.
But a few days back, a lawmaker in the House of Representatives, Abdussamad Dasuki, raised the alarm over some alterations in the law, claiming certain provisions in the gazetted version were different from what was passed by the National Assembly.
Following the allegation, opposition leaders like Peter Obi, the former presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), and some lawmakers, have asked the Federal Government to stop the implementation of the laws.
The Chairman, Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Taiwo Oyedele, however, said contrary to speculations, the Federal Government was not introducing new laws.
