The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has written to President Bola Tinubu, urging him to direct the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), to widely publish certified true copies of the tax bills received from the National Assembly and the tax laws subsequently signed into law.
SERAP said the request follows allegations of discrepancies between the tax bills passed by the National Assembly and the versions of the laws eventually gazetted by the Federal Government.
The organisation said the documents sought include the National Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, the Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria (Establishment) Act, the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, and the Nigeria Tax Act.
SERAP also asked the President to direct the Attorney General to clarify whether the versions of the tax bills transmitted by the National Assembly were identical to those signed into law and ultimately gazetted.
The request was contained in a Freedom of Information (FOI) letter dated December 20, 2025, according to a statement signed on Sunday by SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare.
In the letter, the organisation further urged President Tinubu to set up an independent panel of inquiry to investigate allegations that material alterations were made to the tax laws after their passage by the legislature.
“The proposed panel should be headed by a retired Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria or the Court of Appeal. Its findings should be made public, and anyone found responsible for the alleged alterations should be prosecuted, as appropriate,” SERAP said.
It argued that publishing certified true copies of both the bills received from the National Assembly and the laws signed by the President would allow Nigerians to scrutinise and compare them with the versions eventually gazetted.
SERAP warned that any unlawful alteration of legislation would violate the provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), international human rights obligations, and the fundamental principles of the rule of law and separation of powers.
The organisation gave the President a seven-day deadline to act on the request, warning that it would pursue legal action in the public interest if no response is received.
The call followed a point of privilege raised on December 17 by Abdussamad Dasuki (PDP, Sokoto) in the House of Representatives, in which he drew attention to alleged discrepancies between the harmonised tax bills passed by lawmakers and the versions later gazetted by the Federal Government.
