The controversy surrounding Nigeria’s new tax reform laws intensified yesterday, as the Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) and prominent human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), separately warned the Federal Government against implementing the laws from January 1, 2026, amid unresolved allegations of post-legislative alterations.
Recall that President Tinubu, in a statement signed on Tuesday, had reaffirmed that the implementation of the tax reforms would proceed as scheduled from January 1, 2026, describing them as “a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build a fair, competitive and robust fiscal foundation”, and insisting that no substantial issue warranted disruption of the process.
However, the CNG accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of executive overreach and an assault on democratic governance for insisting on the commencement date despite claims that the tax laws signed into effect were materially different from the versions passed by the 10th National Assembly.
In a statement issued by its National Coordinator, Comrade Jamilu Aliyu Charanchi, the Coalition said credible discrepancies exist between the tax Bills debated and approved by lawmakers and the versions eventually gazetted, raising serious constitutional and legal concerns.
According to the group, reviews of verified facts, expert legal opinions, and submissions by lawmakers and independent observers suggest that the final versions of the laws do not accurately reflect what was approved by the legislature.
“These discrepancies are not minor drafting errors; they are substantive alterations that strike at the heart of legislative authority, constitutional order, and the rule of law”, Charanchi said.
The CNG accused the Presidency, working in tandem with the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, of pushing an ulterior agenda that could worsen the hardship faced by Nigerians through what it described as the reckless enforcement of flawed and legally questionable tax reforms.
It faulted President Tinubu for what it described as a contradiction between his pro-democracy credentials and his current posture, warning that enforcing laws allegedly altered after legislative approval without fresh debate and re-passage amounts to Executive overreach.
“No amount of rhetoric about ‘structural reset’ or ‘once-in-a-generation reforms’ can justify bypassing due process or imposing legislation of questionable legitimacy on Nigerians,” the Coalition said.
The group also criticised the National Assembly, accusing it of abandoning its constitutional role as a coequal arm of Government.
The Coalition questioned the urgency of the January 1, 2026, implementation date amid unresolved disputes, widespread public scepticism, and worsening economic conditions marked by poverty, insecurity, and unemployment.
It warned that imposing tax reforms through questionable processes would deepen public resentment and weaken state–citizen relations, and demanded an immediate suspension of implementation, full disclosure of the versions passed by the 10th National Assembly and those gazetted, as well as independent legislative and judicial reviews.
Adding legal weight to the criticism, Falana said the new tax laws could not take effect until the controversies surrounding their legitimacy were resolved.
Speaking to newsmen in his Ilawe-Ekiti hometown, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria said the Federal Government should have used the closing days of 2025 to address the allegations and make clean, authentic copies of the tax laws publicly available.
According to him, “The laws cannot take effect until the controversies surrounding the legitimacy of the provisions are addressed. There are questions about the authentic tax laws. Until we have clean copies, you cannot talk about a commencement date”.
Falana warned that interest groups were already prepared to challenge the legitimacy of the laws in court, noting serious allegations that certain provisions were “smuggled” into the Bills passed by the National Assembly – claims some have described as forgery.
He also criticised the lack of transparency, questioning why Bills passed by the Legislature and signed into law by the President were not readily accessible to the public. While acknowledging that the tax laws form part of the government’s economic reform programme, Falana stressed that Nigerians must be allowed to scrutinise the provisions and that government must be ready to justify the imposition of taxes.
He further faulted what he described as a discriminatory tax regime that exempts some wealthy companies, particularly those operating in free trade zones, from paying taxes and duties, warning that such provisions could face legal challenges for being unjust and unconstitutional.
With mounting opposition from civil groups and legal experts, pressure is growing on the Federal Government to halt the rollout and resolve the legitimacy concerns before enforcement.
