Absurdities, The New Tax Law, An Executive Rascality- Former Rep Zakari Mohammed 

A Formal Constitutional Letter to

Mr. President,

Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR.

Date: 17 December 2025.

Mr. President,

This letter is written pursuant to my civic and constitutional obligation to draw attention to actions and omissions which, if established, amount to serial violations of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, undermine legislative sovereignty, and erode confidence in Nigeria’s democratic institutions.

On the floor of the House of Representatives, Hon. Abdulsamad Dasuki, a duly elected member of the National Assembly, formally raised a motion drawing attention to disturbing discrepancies between the tax bills debated, harmonised, and passed by the National Assembly and the versions subsequently gazetted and presented to the public by the executive. According to the lawmaker, the gazette copies contain strange clauses and material deviations that were neither debated nor approved by the legislature.

If substantiated, these allegations disclose multiple, continuing, and grave constitutional breaches, including but not limited to the following:

1. A violation of Section 4 of the Constitution, which vests legislative powers exclusively in the National Assembly and forbids any other authority from exercising or usurping that power.

2. A breach of Section 58 of the Constitution, which confines the President’s role to assent or withholding of assent, and does not authorise post-passage alteration, insertion, or doctoring of legislative texts.

3. A collapse of the doctrine of separation of powers, by subjecting legislative authority to executive manipulation.

4. A breach of the constitutional oath of office, which mandates fidelity to, and defence of, the Constitution.

5. A potential falsification of public legislative records, rendering the affected laws constitutionally defective and legally vulnerable.

The gazetting and attempted enforcement of a law that does not faithfully reflect the resolutions of the National Assembly is not a procedural lapse; it is a constitutional trespass capable of attracting investigation, individual responsibility, institutional liability, and punitive sanctions under Nigerian law. Where such infractions are tolerated, the supremacy of the Constitution is reduced to rhetoric.

Beyond domestic implications, Mr. President, the international consequences of this conduct are profound. International development partners, multilateral institutions, treaty bodies, and foreign investors assess countries not merely by policy ambition, but by institutional credibility, legislative certainty, and respect for the rule of law. A situation in which laws — especially tax laws — can be altered after parliamentary passage and gazetted in compromised form signals institutional unreliability and regulatory risk.

If allowed to slide, this episode will erode confidence in Nigeria’s law-making process, weaken investor trust in statutory guarantees, and reinforce perceptions of executive arbitrariness. No serious economy attracts sustainable investment where the authenticity of its laws is in doubt.

Tax legislation, by its compulsory nature, demands the strictest adherence to constitutional procedure. Citizens and investors alike cannot be compelled to comply with fiscal obligations arising from laws whose legitimacy, origin, and content are contested. Any such imposition is constitutionally unsafe, economically damaging, and legally challengeable.

Accordingly, and in order to avert a deepening constitutional and institutional crisis, the following steps are imperative:

1. Immediate suspension of the implementation and enforcement of the newly gazetted tax laws.

2. Public release of the exact harmonised versions of the bills as duly passed by both chambers of the National Assembly.

3. An independent and transparent investigation to determine how, when, and by whose authority the discrepancies arose.

4. Identification and punishment of all officials or agencies involved in any unlawful alteration, certification, or gazetting of legislative texts.

5. Withdrawal and nullification of the compromised gazetted instruments where breaches are confirmed, followed by a fresh legislative process conducted strictly in accordance with constitutional requirements.

Mr. President, executive authority does not extend to legislative alteration, nor can fiscal urgency justify constitutional violations. Persistent disregard for legislative procedure sets a precedent that weakens democracy, invites judicial intervention, fuels civic resistance, and damages Nigeria’s standing before the international community.

As one who, in private life, was known to oppose unjust and oppressive policies, it is expected that you will now, as President, act to restore constitutional discipline, protect institutional credibility, and ensure that no arm of government is placed above the law.

Failure to address these allegations decisively risks normalising constitutional abuse and projecting Nigeria as a state where laws are negotiable instruments rather than binding democratic compacts.

This letter is written without prejudice to further constitutional, legislative, or judicial actions that may be taken by concerned citizens or institutions to enforce accountability and vindicate the supremacy of the Constitution.

Yours faithfully,

Hon. Zakari Mohammed

Spokesman, 7th Assembly.