Atiku calls for suspension of new tax laws, asks EFCC to probe ‘alterations’

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has called for the immediate suspension of the new tax laws over alleged alterations made after passage by the national assembly.

Last week, Abdussamad Dasuki, a member of the house of representatives from Sokoto, claimed that the gazetted tax laws differ from the version passed by the national assembly.

Following the allegation, the house of representatives constituted a seven-member ad hoc committee to investigate the reported discrepancies in the tax legislation.

On Monday, Mohammed Idris, minister of information and national orientation, said only one version of the tax laws exists.

Idris said the matter is now within the jurisdiction of the national assembly, adding that the executive would wait for the outcome of the probe.

However, in a statement on Tuesday, Abubakar asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate the “illegal and unauthorised alterations made to Nigeria’s tax legislation after passage by the national assembly”.

The former vice-president said the alleged changes represent “a brazen act of treason against the Nigerian people and a direct assault on our constitutional democracy”.

Abubakar accused the executive of engaging in what he called a “draconian overreach” that undermines legislative supremacy and prioritises revenue extraction over citizens’ welfare.

He alleged that new provisions granting arrest powers, property seizure, and enforcement sales without court orders were inserted without legislative consent.

According to him, these measures “transform tax collectors into quasi-law enforcement agencies” and strip Nigerians of due process protections deliberately preserved by lawmakers.

Abubakar further claimed that additional changes increased the financial burden on citizens through mandatory security deposits, compound interest on tax debts, stricter reporting requirements, and foreign currency computation for petroleum operations.

He said the measures create barriers that prevent Nigerians from challenging tax assessments while increasing compliance costs for businesses.

‘HALLMARK OF AUTHORITARIAN GOVERNANCE’.

The former vice-president also alleged that accountability mechanisms, including reporting obligations to the national assembly and ministerial oversight provisions, were removed from the laws.

He warned that stripping away oversight while expanding executive power is “a hallmark of authoritarian governance”.

Abubakar said the controversy exposes a government more focused on imposing tax burdens than on addressing poverty, unemployment, and rising inflation.

He also said that sustainable revenue generation comes from empowering citizens and expanding the tax base, not from “punitive taxation and erosion of legal protections”.

The former vice-president called on the executive to suspend implementation of the tax law to allow for a full investigation.

He urged the national assembly to reverse the alleged alterations through proper legislative procedures and hold those responsible accountable.

Abubakar also asked the judiciary to strike down the disputed provisions and reaffirm the sanctity of the legislative process, calling on civil society organisations (CSOs) and Nigerians to reject what he described as an assault on democratic principles.

Abubakar further demanded that the government abandon policies of “extraction and oppression” and focus on measures that enable citizens and businesses to thrive.

The former presidential candidate warned that “what the national assembly did not pass cannot become law”, stressing that failure to defend this principle risks arbitrary rule and erosion of constitutional safeguards.