Tax Law Controversy: Ndume Urges Tinubu Not to Treat January as Fixed Implementation Date

Amid growing claims and counterclaims surrounding the Tax Law scheduled to take effect in January, former Senate Leader, Senator Ali Ndume, has appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to intervene and suspend the planned implementation date.
Ndume made the call in a statement issued on Wednesday in Abuja, urging the President to address the controversy that has continued to trail the legislation.
Findings indicate that opposition politicians and several civil society organisations, including the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), have also called for the suspension of the law’s implementation.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the President of the NBA, Mazi Afam Osigwe (SAN), warned that the controversies surrounding the tax laws pose a serious threat to the integrity, transparency, and credibility of Nigeria’s legislative process. He noted that the issues strike at the core of constitutional governance and called for a thorough, open, and transparent investigation to restore public confidence.
“The Nigerian Bar Association considers it imperative that a comprehensive, open, and transparent investigation be conducted to clarify the circumstances surrounding the enactment of the laws and to restore public confidence in the legislative process. Until these issues are fully examined and resolved, all plans for the implementation of the Tax Reform Acts should be immediately suspended,” the statement read.
Last week, a member of the House of Representatives, Abdussamad Dasuki, drew the attention of the National Assembly to alleged alterations in the tax laws, claiming that the version officially gazetted by the Federal Government differed from the final copy passed by lawmakers and forwarded to President Tinubu for assent.
The Senator representing Borno South subsequently urged the President to set up an ad hoc committee to investigate the authenticity of the alleged alterations.
Ndume, a former Senate Chief Whip, warned that proceeding with the implementation of the tax laws without resolving the allegations of forgery could create serious legitimacy challenges.
According to him, “With the controversy surrounding it, the President should constitute a team to verify the veracity of the claim and act accordingly.
“As a responsive leader that he has always been, he should examine whether the copy that was signed was genuinely altered and do the needful to bring the controversy to rest.
“If this is not done, the controversy will persist. That means the tax law cannot be implemented, because you cannot build on nothing.
“Mr. President should therefore suspend the implementation until the issues are resolved, especially as many civil society organisations, the Arewa community, and the Nigerian Bar Association have called for the withdrawal of the Tax Law and a full investigation into the allegation of forgery.
“The President should get to the root of the allegation. The small committee to be set up should look into it, while the House of Representatives also carries out its own investigation.”