The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has called on President Bola Tinubu to immediately suspend the implementation of the tax laws scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2026.
ADC, in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said the call became necessary following recent findings that the final version of the law contains alteration of provisions that were not in the original bill passed by the National Assembly.
The party argued that tampering with a piece of legislation after it has been passed by the National Assembly is indication that President Tinubu desires to concentrate all powers onto himself.
“Altering legislations and gazetting same after they have been passed by 469 elected representatives of the Nigerian people is indeed a direct assault on constitutional governance.
“More fundamentally, it is indicative of the totalitarian instincts of a president desirous of concentrating all powers of government to himself, even it means violating the very constitution from which he derives his authority,” the party stated.
ADC further said its “forensic review of the original laws and the gazetted versions have 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.”
It cited the provision which grants the president the power to arrest and take over the property of anyone who does not comply with the tax laws, as one of the provisions allegedly inserted after the bill was passed by the National Assembly.
The party stated that it is not in support of any tax that is likely to compound the misery and hardship already faced by citizens and businesses.
“But this issue goes beyond taxations. 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 statement added.
ADC reminded President Tinubu that under the Nigeria Constitution, only the legislature can make laws, adding that any legislation that has not been passed according to the provisions of the 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 on the executive arm of government. This portends great danger to our democracy,” the party warned.
It called for a public inquiry to investigate the circumstances surrounding the alleged alterations of a duly passed law, and to ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice.
