..As Reps minority caucus stands for truth with Nigerians
CYRIL MBAH, Abuja and JONAS EZIEKE, Abuja
Former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has declared that the confirmation by the Senate that the gazetted version of the Tinubu Tax Act does not reflect what was duly passed by the National Assembly raises a grave constitutional issue.
Atiku said in a statement he issued on Sunday night that “a law that was never passed in the form in which it was published is not a law. It is a nullity.”
Quoting Section 58 of the 1999 Constitution, the former PDP Presidential Candidate said that the lawmaking process is clear and exclusive, pointing out that it involves passage by both chambers, presidential assent, before gazetting.
According to Atiku, “Gazetting is an administrative act of publication; it does not create law, amend law, or cure illegality.
Where a gazette misrepresents legislative approval, it has no legal force. Any post-passage insertion, deletion, or modification of a bill without legislative approval amounts in law to forgery, not a clerical error.
“No administrative directive by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, or the Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas, can validate such a defect or justify a re-gazetting without re-passage and fresh presidential assent.”
Atiku condemned what he called the attempt to rush a re-gazetting while stalling legislative investigation, saying it undermines parliamentary oversight and sets a dangerous precedent.
“Illegality cannot be cured by speed. The only lawful path is fresh legislative consideration, re-passage in identical form by both chambers, fresh assent, and proper gazetting.
This is not opposition to tax reform. It is a defence of the integrity of the legislative process and a rejection of any attempt to normalise constitutional breaches through procedural shortcuts.”
..As Reps minority caucus stands for truth with Nigerians
The Minority Caucus in the House of Representatives has said that it has noted with great consternation and an overwhelming sense of disappointment the current storm brewing over the Tax Reform laws that were duly passed by the National Assembly and properly signed into law by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
This is contained in a statement issued to newsmen by the Caucus Leader Rt Hon Ogundu Kingsley Chinda, Minority Whip, Rt.Hon.Dr.Ali Isa JC, Deputy Minority Leader Rt.Hon.Aliyu Madaki and Deputy Minority Whip Rt.Hon.George Ozodinobi in Abuja
The Caucus leadership said that ordinarily, the controversy would have been dismissed as needless, but the gravity of the cause of the controversy is an issue of great concern to all Nigerians, especially since it borders on the accusations of unlawful alterations to the laws as passed by both Chambers of the National Assembly and subsequently signed by the President.
They said that they are also aware that this issue has been raised by a member of the House of Representatives during one of our recent plenaries, following which the House inaugurated a high-powered committee to investigate the allegations made by the member that the tax laws have been fraudulently altered, gazetted and the altered copy circulated to the public.
It reads: “As such, we want to assure Nigerians that the Minority Caucus of the House of Representatives will stand with the entire House to see that the circumstances surrounding this illegality are exposed and the culprits brought to book in the interest of justice for all Nigerians.
“We are aware of the legitimate procedures towards the gazetting of laws, and it starts with the Clerk to the National Assembly (CNA) transmitting the actual copies of the laws to the relevant federal agency that gazettes all government documents, which means, the National Assembly is always the custodian of the genuine documents of the laws of the federation that have been passed, and, therefore, we will always make sure that it is the truth that prevails in moments of controversy such as this”.
The Minority Caucus of the House, therefore, calls on Nigerians to disregard any purported tax laws being circulated without the signature of the CNA and the President and Commander in Chief, as such did not originate from the National Assembly, and neither do they reflect the true character of what was actually passed by the Legislature and signed by the President.
According to the group, any attempt to foist fake laws on Nigerians is an attack on the independence and constitutional role of the National Assembly in safeguarding our democracy, and the Caucus will unconditionally protect the independence of the Legislature and our democracy.
The. federal lawmakers, therefore, call on the government to suspend the implementation of the tax laws until investigations are concluded and there is clarity and certainty of the law to be implemented.
The group added that Nigerians and the business community are entitled to copies of the laws that they are expected to obey.
They are also calling on President Bola Tinubu to use his democratic credentials to abide by this call and to be responsive and responsible and heed this call.
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