In a startling revelation on the floor of the House of Representatives, Hon. Abdulsammad Dasuki (PDP, Sokoto) has alleged that the tax laws recently gazetted and released to the Nigerian public are not the same versions debated and passed by the legislature.
Raising a Point of Privilege during Wednesday’s plenary, Dasuki claimed that his rights as a lawmaker were breached because the final legal documents in circulation do not reflect the votes cast by members of the National Assembly.
Dasuki informed the House that after a three-day review, he discovered significant inconsistencies.
“I was here, I gave my vote and it was counted, and I am seeing something completely different,” Dasuki said.
He added that he obtained copies of the gazetted laws from the Ministry of Information and found them to be inconsistent with what was approved by both the House and the Senate.
The lawmaker stressed that the matter was not about moving a motion, but about drawing the attention of the House to what he described as “a serious breach” of legislative process and the Constitution.
He urged the Speaker to ensure that all relevant documents, including the harmonised versions, the Votes and Proceedings of both chambers, and the gazetted copies currently in circulation, are brought before the Committee of the Whole for scrutiny by all members.
Dasuki warned that allowing laws different from those duly passed by the National Assembly to be presented to Nigerians would undermine the integrity of the legislature and violate constitutional provisions.
“Mr. Speaker, I will be pleading that all the documents should be brought before the Committee of the Whole Thank you. The whole members should see what is in the gazetted copy and see what they passed on the floor so that we can make the relevant amendment. Mister Speaker, this is the breach of the Constitution.
“This is the breach of our laws, and this should not be taken by this honorable House. Thank you Mister Speaker,” he said.
Speaker Abbas Tajudeen, who presided the plenary, said he had taken note of the Point of Privilege raised by Dasuki and assured that action would be taken on the matter.