The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has called for the immediate suspension of the Tax Reform Acts, citing alleged discrepancies between the versions passed by the National Assembly and those later gazetted into law.
This is contained in a statement issued on Tuesday by the association’s president, Afam Osigwe.
The association stressed that implementation should be paused until the issues are fully resolved.
What NBA is saying
Osigwe said the allegations “strike at the very heart of constitutional governance”, warning that any deviation from due legislative process undermines the procedural sanctity of lawmaking in a democratic society.
The NBA warned that uncertainty around the tax reforms could hurt the business climate, weaken investor confidence, and create unpredictability for taxpayers.
The association said, “It unsettles the business environment, erodes investor confidence, and creates unpredictability for individuals, businesses, and institutions required to comply with the law.”
Context and Backstory
President Bola Tinubu signed the four tax reform bills into law in June, concluding months of debate and public scrutiny.
The laws include the Nigeria Tax Bill, Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill, and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Bill.
The Federal Government has slated January 2026 for their implementation.
However, the reforms have since faced mounting opposition. Political leaders and groups, including Peter Obi of the Labour Party and the African Democratic Party (ADC), have called for a halt to the implementation.
While Taiwo Oyedele has defended the reforms as not introducing new taxes, concerns grew after Abdulsamad Dasuki flagged alleged discrepancies between the laws passed and the gazetted versions.
According to Dasuki, he compared the vote and proceedings of the House, the Senate’s records, and the harmonised versions with the gazetted copies currently in circulation.
“I took my time in the last three days to look at the gazetted pass copy, the vote and proceedings of the House of Representatives, and also went an extra mile to look at the vote and proceedings of the Senate, of what was harmonised.
“Mr. Speaker, honourable colleagues, what I passed on this floor is not what is gazette,” he argued.
The lawmaker said his concern was not being raised through a formal motion but as a constitutional issue requiring urgent legislative scrutiny.
He called on the Speaker to ensure that all relevant documents, including the harmonised bills, the versions passed by both chambers, and the gazetted laws, are laid before the Committee of the Whole.
What this means
The NBA’s intervention adds legal weight to the growing controversy around Nigeria’s tax reforms.
If unresolved, the dispute could delay implementation, complicate tax administration planning, and heighten uncertainty for investors and businesses ahead of the January 2026 rollout.
The situation demonstrates the importance of procedural transparency in legislative processes, especially for reforms with wide-ranging economic implications.
