House Of Reps Dismiss Minority Caucus Report On New Tax Laws

The Spokesperson for the House of Representatives, Akin Rotimi, has declared that the recent interim report released by the Minority Caucus of the House does not represent the position of the lower chamber of the National Assembly on the tax reform laws.

The lawmaker insisted that the Minority Caucus report has no legal or parliamentary backing, adding that the caucus can only make consultation, coordination and policy advocacy among members and does not have investigative or oversight powers.

Rotimi emphasized that under its Standing Orders, only the House sitting in plenary or the Speaker has the authority to constitute an ad hoc committee with parliamentary status.

Naijaonpoint recalls that the Minority Caucus of the House of Representatives had confirmed a difference in the tax laws approved by the National Assembly and the version gazetted by the government after it was signed by President Bola Tinubu.

According to the lawmakers, some portion of Nigeria’s recently gazetted tax laws were illegally altered.

The disclosure was contained in an interim report of the Minority Caucus Ad-hoc Committee on Tax Laws, set up to investigate allegations of discrepancies between the tax reform Acts passed by the legislature and the versions published in the official gazette.

However, the House of Reps spokesperson has stated that both the minority and political caucuses lack the authority to carry out a parliamentary duty, and therefore, the interim report submitted by the minority caucus holds no water.

“No political caucus, whether majority or minority, possesses the procedural authority to establish a committee that carries the status of a parliamentary body.

“Any action taken by a caucus in this regard is therefore non-binding, informal, and without legal or institutional consequence,” the statement noted, adding that any committee constituted outside the prescribed procedures “lacks institutional recognition,” Rotimi said.

He added that the interim or final report produced by a caucus-led body can not form the official position of the House on any subject matter.

Rotimi noted that such reports “cannot be laid before the House, cannot be received as a parliamentary document, and does not form part of the official legislative or oversight record of the National Assembly.”

According to the statement, the alleged action of the Minority Caucus was inconsistent with parliamentary norms and capable of creating public confusion, especially as the issue of the tax laws had already been addressed through established legislative mechanisms.

Rotimi recalled that in December 2025, the House constituted a bipartisan ad hoc committee following concerns raised by an opposition lawmaker over the alleged discrepancies in the tax laws passed by the legislators and the version officially gazetted in the tax legislation.

He noted that the report of the committee would be presented to the House upon completion.

“That committee was constituted by the House in line with the Standing Orders, remains in force, and continues to discharge its assignment,” he said.

The statement added that the National Assembly has since published the official Gazette and issued Certified True Copies of the enacted tax laws, thereby concluding the legislative process and giving it full legal effect.

“The National Assembly has also formally disowned and debunked any unofficial documents in circulation, reiterating that only the gazetted versions and duly certified copies issued by the National Assembly constitute authentic legislative instruments,” Rotimi stated.

He warned that establishing a parallel caucus-led committee and circulating purported interim findings could further confuse the populace.

He therefore urged Nigerians to disregard any unofficial report.

“For the avoidance of doubt, only committees constituted by the House in plenary or by the Speaker have parliamentary authority,” he said.