Alleged discrepancies between tax bills passed by the National Assembly and gazetted versions raise possible forgery concerns, says Sam Amadi.

Arising from recent controversy over Nigeria’s new tax laws, analyst Sam Amadi has warned that alleged discrepancies between the versions passed by the National Assembly and the copies later gazetted by the federal government raise serious concerns of possible criminality, including forgery.

He said, “First, let me say that this is of serious dimension. Again, we’ve seen possible executive overreach, whether in terms of the executive not following the law strictly, or whether in terms of the executive trying to use the executive powers of the president to undermine the legislative jurisdiction, whether in the US, elsewhere in the world. But what is remarkable about this is that it touches on possible criminality in terms of forgery.”

Amadi further explained, “Classically defined by the Supreme Court, a forgery exists when there’s an original of something, and a fake, a simulation, if you like, of that original, which is passed off as the original. So in this case, if, as it’s been established, the gazetted version, quote unquote, of the tax law, is not exactly what the National Assembly passed, it means that there is prima facie a case of forgery, because whoever did it, did it, and presented it as what is passed and ascertained. There’s a deeper dimension here.”

The issue first came to light when a member of the House of Representatives, Abdussamad Dasuki, formally drew the attention of the Green Chamber to alleged discrepancies between the tax bills passed by the National Assembly and the copies later gazetted by the federal government. Dasuki had alleged that material alterations were made after parliamentary approval, raising questions about the integrity of the law-making process.

Reacting to the development, Ndume urged Tinubu to constitute an ad hoc committee to verify the veracity of the allegations and halt implementation until the matter is conclusively resolved.

Although the House of Representatives had set up an adhoc committee to investigate Dasuki’s allegations, Ndume cautioned that any attempt to push ahead without addressing the claims could trigger a legitimacy crisis for the tax regime. According to him, only a thorough probe by the executive, alongside parallel legislative scrutiny by the House of Representatives, could restore public confidence and ensure the credibility of the tax reforms.

He said, “With the controversy surrounding it, the President should constitute a team to verify the veracity of the claim and act accordingly.

“As a responsive leader that he has always been, he should look into it to find out whether the copy that was signed tallies with what the National Assembly passed. If the claim of alterations is genuine, he should do the needful to bring the controversy to rest.”

The former Senate Chief Whip warned that unresolved allegations of forgery or manipulation would make effective implementation difficult, if not impossible.

In a statement, NBA President, Afam Osigwe (SAN) had said the controversies surrounding the enactment of the laws threatened the integrity, transparency and credibility of Nigeria’s legislative process.

Ndume aligned himself with the position of the NBA and other stakeholders, including civil society organisations and groups from the Arewa community, insisting that January should not be treated as sacrosanct. (ARISE NEWS)