A member of the House of Representatives, Abdulsammad Dasuki (PDP, Sokoto), on Wednesday raised a matter of privilege, alleging that the versions of recently passed tax laws released to the public do not align with those debated and approved by the National Assembly.
Quoting Order Six, Rule Two of the House Rules, Dasuki said his legislative privilege had been violated, insisting that the gazetted documents misrepresent what lawmakers voted on in plenary.
He explained that after the passage of the tax bills, he spent three days reviewing the gazetted copies alongside the House Votes and Proceedings and the harmonised text agreed by both chambers, only to find “notable discrepancies.”
“I was here, I gave my vote and it was counted, and I am seeing something completely different,” he said.
Dasuki added that he obtained the gazetted laws from the Ministry of Information and discovered variations from what was passed by both the House and the Senate.
He stressed that his intervention was not a formal motion but an effort to draw attention to what he described as a “serious violation” of legislative procedure and the Constitution.
Dasuki urged the Speaker to ensure that all relevant documents, including the harmonised versions, the Votes and Proceedings from both chambers, and the circulating gazetted copies, are presented before the Committee of the Whole for a comprehensive review.
He warned that allowing altered versions of laws to be released to the public could undermine the credibility of the legislature and amount to a breach of constitutional provisions.
“The whole House should see what is in the gazetted copy and compare it with what was passed on the floor, so that we can make the relevant amendment. This is a breach of the Constitution, a breach of our laws, and it should not be taken lightly by this Honourable House,” he said.
