Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has said the Senate’s confirmation that the gazetted tax reform law does not reflect what was passed by the National Assembly raises a “grave constitutional issue”, insisting that a law published in a form never approved by lawmakers is a nullity.
Atiku also criticised reported moves to rush a re-gazetting of the law while legislative investigations are allegedly being stalled, describing such actions as an attack on parliamentary oversight and a dangerous precedent.
In a statement posted on his X handle on Sunday, Atiku explained that Section 58 of the 1999 Constitution clearly outlines the lawmaking process, which requires passage by both chambers of the National Assembly, presidential assent, and only then gazetting.
According to him, gazetting is merely an administrative act of publication and does not create, amend, or validate a law.
Atiku warned that any insertion, deletion, or modification of a bill after passage without legislative approval amounts to forgery rather than a clerical error.
He added that no administrative directive by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, or the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, can correct such a defect without a fresh legislative process.
He said: “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. A law that was never passed in the form in which it was published is not law. It is a nullity.
“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.
“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.
“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.
“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.”
