ADC: ‘Tax alterations’ indicative of Tinubu’s totalitarian instincts

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of what it described as forgery of key provisions in the tax laws passed by the National Assembly. Daily Trust had earlier reported that the controversy began on Wednesday when a member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Abdulsammad Dasuki (PDP, […]

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of what it described as forgery of key provisions in the tax laws passed by the National Assembly.

Daily Trust had earlier reported that the controversy began on Wednesday when a member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Abdulsammad Dasuki (PDP, Sokoto), raised a matter of privilege on the floor of the House, alleging discrepancies between the tax laws passed by the National Assembly and the versions later gazetted and made available to the public.

Speaking further on the issue in BBC Hausa’s Ra’ayi Riga programme, Hon. Muhammad Bello Fagge (representing Fagge Federal Constituency, Kano) and Hon. Yusuf Shitu Galambi (Gwaram Federal Constituency, Jigawa), also warned that the discrepancies could undermine constitutional order and erode public trust in government.

In a statement on Saturday by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, ADC said its forensic review of the original laws and the gazetted versions found that key accountability provisions had been deleted and new provisions inserted.

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Describing it as “criminal insertions”, the party cited a section of the laws which, it alleged, grants the government of Tinubu the power to arrest and take over the property of persons who do not comply with the tax laws.

The statement said: “The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has reviewed various reports which confirm doubts that the various tax laws which were passed by the National Assembly and signed into law by President Bola Tinubu contain substantial forgery of key provisions that were not in the original law passed by the legislature.

“ADC’s forensic review of the original laws and the gazetted versions has also established beyond all doubts that key accountability provisions had been deleted and new provisions inserted, which granted coercive powers to the Executive in the enforcement of the tax laws without recourse to the court. For example, one of the criminal insertions into the laws grants the government of Bola Tinubu the express power to arrest and take over the property of anyone who does not comply with the tax laws.

“The ADC’s position on the so-called tax reforms has been made clear. We do not support any tax that is more likely to compound the misery and hardship already faced by citizens and businesses. But this issue goes beyond taxation. 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.”

The opposition coalition also accused President Tinubu of concentrating all powers of government to himself, warning that such action would undermine democracy.

“More fundamentally, it is indicative of the totalitarian instincts of a President desirous of concentrating all powers of government to himself, even if it means violating the very constitution from which he derives his authority.

“For avoidance of doubt, under our constitution, only the legislature can make laws. Therefore, any legislation that has not been passed according to the provisions of our constitution cannot stand. To accept that the executive could whimsically insert or remove even a punctuation mark from a piece of legislation after it has been passed by the legislature is to arrogate law-making powers to the executive arm of government. This portends great danger to our democracy.”

While calling for the immediate suspension of the implementation of the tax laws scheduled for January 2026, the ADC also demanded investigation and prosecution of government officials involved in the alleged alterations of the laws.

“The ADC therefore calls for immediate suspension of all the 2025 tax laws that have been signed by President Bola Tinubu to allow for a full legislative review. 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 could be sidestepped by the President.

“We also call for a full investigation and immediate prosecution of any official of government who may be found culpable in the execution of this act of forgery that touches at the very heart of our democracy,” the statement added.