Sen. Ali Ndume, former Senate Leader and lawmaker representing Borno South, has urged President Bola Tinubu to suspend the implementation of the new tax laws scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, 2026, over allegations of forgery.
Ndume made the call in a statement on Wednesday, following claims that the gazetted versions of the tax laws differ from those passed by the National Assembly.
The allegation was first raised on Dec. 17 by Rep. Abdussamad Dasuki (Sokoto), who said the contents of the gazetted tax laws were not the same as those approved by the legislature.
In response, the House of Representatives constituted a seven-member committee to investigate the alleged discrepancies.
Ndume urged the President to also set up an ad hoc committee to verify the authenticity of the tax laws signed into law.
According to him, proceeding with the implementation of the laws without resolving the forgery claims could create a legitimacy challenge.
“With the controversy surrounding it, the President should constitute a team to verify the veracity of the claim and act accordingly,” Ndume said.
He added that failure to address the issue could stall the implementation of the tax laws, noting that several groups, including civil society organisations, the Arewa community and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), had called for the suspension of the laws pending investigation.
Ndume said the President should suspend implementation until the allegations were thoroughly investigated, alongside the probe already being conducted by the House of Representatives.
Meanwhile, the NBA had on Tuesday demanded a suspension of the implementation of the tax reform laws, stating that the controversies surrounding them cast doubt on the integrity and transparency of Nigeria’s lawmaking process.
