The Minority Caucus of the House of Representatives has officially called on the Federal Government to suspend the implementation of the newly enacted Tax Reform Acts, scheduled to take effect on 01 January 2026.
In a strongly worded statement issued today, Monday, December 29, 2025, the opposition leadership, led by Hon. Kingsley Chinda, argued that enforcing the laws while they are under investigation for alleged “unlawful alterations” would be a breach of constitutional integrity.
The caucus’s demand stems from a growing scandal within the National Assembly regarding the authenticity of the gazetted documents.
Hon. Abdulsammad Dasuki (PDP, Sokoto) first raised the alarm, alleging that the versions of the four tax laws currently being circulated by the Ministry of Information differ significantly from the versions actually passed by the Senate and the House.
Lawmakers claim that certain provisions, particularly those relating to executive fiscal powers and reporting requirements, were modified after the bills had already received presidential assent.
Speaker Tajudeen Abbas has already constituted a seven-man ad-hoc committee to investigate these discrepancies, but the Minority Caucus insists the laws must be paused until the committee submits its findings.
The statement, jointly signed by Kingsley Chinda (Minority Leader), Ali Isa (Minority Whip), Aliyu Madaki, and George Ozodinobi, issued a direct warning to the Nigerian public and the business community:
“We call on the government to suspend implementation until there is clarity and certainty. We urge Nigerians to reject any tax law version that does not bear the mandatory signatures of both the President and the Clerk to the National Assembly (CNA).”
The government remains firm on the 01 January start date, despite the “gazette furore.” If the laws proceed as planned, the following major shifts will occur:
| Reform Area | Key Provision in the 2025 Act |
| Personal Income Tax | N800,000 threshold (Earnings below this are tax-exempt). |
| VAT | Expanded list of zero-rated essential goods (food, medicine, education). |
| Corporate Tax | Introduction of a 15% Minimum Effective Tax Rate for large multinationals. |
| Agricultural Relief | 5-year tax holiday for new companies in crop and livestock production. |
The Federal Government has however, dismissed the calls for suspension. Finance officials warn that delaying the reforms would “severely impact the 2026 budget projections” and create a revenue vacuum that the economy cannot afford. They maintain that the gazetted versions are the “true reflections” of the legal process.
