Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has raised fresh concerns over what he described as a constitutional crisis stemming from alleged alt...
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has raised fresh concerns over what he described as a constitutional crisis stemming from alleged alterations in the gazetted version of the Tinubu Tax Act.
In a statement shared on his X handle on Sunday, Atiku warned that any law not gazetted in the exact form passed by the National Assembly is null and void and amounts to forgery. He cautioned that the discrepancy threatens the integrity of Nigeria’s legislative process.
“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. “A law that was never passed in the form in which it was published is not law. It is a nullity.”
He explained that the Constitution prescribes a clear process for lawmaking. Administrative publication alone cannot rectify deviations from legislative approval.
“Under Section 58 of the 1999 Constitution, the lawmaking process is clear and exclusive: passage by both chambers, presidential assent, and only then gazetting. 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,” he added.
Atiku condemned any post-passage alteration to legislation without proper legislative approval, describing it as unlawful.
“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,” he said.
He also warned against attempts to rush re-gazetting while delaying proper legislative scrutiny.
“The attempt to rush a re-gazetting while stalling legislative investigation 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,” Atiku stated.
The former vice president emphasised that his position is not against tax reform, but a defence of constitutional order and legislative integrity.
“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,” he said.
Atiku had previously, on Tuesday last week, called for the immediate suspension and investigation of the tax laws. In a statement he personally signed, he described the alleged post-passage alterations as “illegal and unauthorised” and an assault on constitutional democracy.
“This overreach undermines legislative supremacy and reveals a government more interested in extraction than empowerment,” he said. He urged the executive to suspend implementation, called on the National Assembly to rectify the alterations, and appealed to the judiciary to strike down unconstitutional provisions.
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