Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has described the gazetted version of the controversial Tax Act as a legal nullity, alleging that the document currently in circulation amounts to forgery.
In a statement issued on Sunday, Atiku reacted to the confirmation by the Senate that the gazetted Act differs from what was duly passed by the National Assembly.
He warned that the development raises a grave constitutional issue that cannot be swept under the carpet.
The former Vice President contended that under Section 58 of the 1999 Constitution, the lawmaking process is exclusive and rigid, involving passage by both chambers and presidential assent before gazetting.
He argued that any publication that does not reflect exactly what was passed is not law.
“A law that was never passed in the form in which it was published is not law. It is a nullity,” Atiku stated. “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.”
Atiku took a swipe at the leadership of the National Assembly, specifically Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, warning that they lack the power to simply re-gazette the document to correct the error without restarting the legislative process.
“Any post-passage insertion, deletion, or modification of a bill without legislative approval amounts in law to forgery, not a clerical error,” he asserted. “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.”
He criticized attempts to rush a re-gazetting while stalling a proper legislative investigation, noting that such moves undermine parliamentary oversight and set 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,” Atiku advised.
He clarified that his position is not merely an opposition to tax reform but a defence of the integrity of the legislative process, rejecting any attempt to normalise constitutional breaches through procedural shortcuts.
