Atiku Abubakar, former vice president, has demanded the suspension of the gazetted tax law over alleged alterations made after approval by the national assembly.
The call follows claims by Abdussamad Dasuki, a member of the house of representatives from Sokoto, that inconsistencies exist between the tax bills passed by lawmakers and the versions later gazetted.
The house of representatives has since set up a seven-member committee to examine the reported discrepancies in the tax legislation.
Mohammed Idris, minister of information and national orientation, said on Monday that there is only one valid version of the tax laws.
Idris said the issue now falls within the authority of the national assembly, adding that the executive would await the findings of the legislative inquiry.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Abubakar called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to probe the “illegal and unauthorised alterations made to Nigeria’s tax legislation after passage by the national assembly”.
He said the alleged tampering amounts to “a brazen act of treason against the Nigerian people and a direct assault on our constitutional democracy”.
Abubakar accused the executive arm of engaging in a “draconian overreach” that he said weakens legislative authority and elevates revenue extraction above public welfare.
He alleged that provisions empowering arrest, seizure of property, and enforcement sales without court approval were introduced without the consent of lawmakers.
According to Abubakar, these provisions “transform tax collectors into quasi-law enforcement agencies” and deliberately remove due process safeguards embedded by the legislature.
He also alleged that further changes imposed heavier financial pressures through compulsory security deposits, compound interest on outstanding taxes, stricter disclosure obligations, and foreign currency valuation for petroleum operations.
Abubakar said the measures restrict citizens’ ability to challenge tax assessments while sharply increasing compliance costs for businesses.
He further claimed that accountability clauses, including reporting duties to the national assembly and ministerial oversight mechanisms, were excised from the final laws.
Abubakar warned that expanding executive power while dismantling oversight structures is “a hallmark of authoritarian governance”.
He said the controversy reflects a government preoccupied with tax imposition rather than tackling poverty, unemployment, and inflation.
Abubakar said sustainable revenue growth comes from economic inclusion and broadening the tax base, not from “punitive taxation and erosion of legal protections”.
The former vice president called on the executive to halt implementation of the tax law pending a comprehensive and transparent investigation.
He urged the national assembly to restore the disputed provisions through lawful legislative procedures and ensure accountability for those responsible.
Abubakar also asked the judiciary to invalidate the contested sections and reaffirm the supremacy of the legislative process.
He called on civil society groups and Nigerians to resist what he described as an attack on democratic governance.
Abubakar further urged the government to abandon policies of “extraction and oppression” in favour of reforms that allow citizens and businesses to prosper.
He warned that “what the national assembly did not pass cannot become law”, saying failure to defend this principle would invite arbitrary rule and weaken constitutional safeguards.
