The House of Representatives has set up a seven-man Ad-Hoc committee to investigate allegations of discrepancies between the tax bills passed by the National Assembly and the versions subsequently assented and gazetted.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Tajudeen Abbas set up the committee at plenary to be chaired by Mr. Muktar Aliyu Betara.
Other members of the committee include former Deputy Speaker, Mr. Ahmed Idris Wase, Mr. Sada Soli, Mr. James Abiodun Faleke, Mr. Fred Agbedi, Mr. Babajimi Benson and Mr. Iduma Igariwey.
It will be recalled that Mr. Abdulsammad Dasuki (PDP Sokoto), had raised a matter of privilege on the floor of the House, alleging discrepancies between the tax laws passed by the National Assembly and the versions subsequently gazetted and made available to the public.
Rising under Order Six, Rule Two of the House Rules on a Point of Privilege, Mr. Dasuki told the House that his legislative privilege had been breached, insisting that the content of the tax laws as gazetted did not reflect what the lawmakers debated, voted and passed on the floor of the House.
According to him, after the passage of the tax bills, he took time off for three days to carefully review the gazetted copies alongside the Votes and Proceedings of the House of Representatives, as well as the harmonised version adopted by both chambers of the National Assembly, but observed discrepancies.
“I was here, I gave my vote and it was counted, and I am seeing something completely different,” Dasuki said.
He noted that he obtained copies of the gazetted laws from the Ministry of Information and found them to be inconsistent with what was approved by both the House and the Senate.
The lawmaker stressed that the matter was not about moving a motion, but about drawing the attention of the House to what he described as “a serious breach” of legislative process and the Constitution.
He urged the Speaker to ensure that all relevant documents, including the harmonised versions, the Votes and Proceedings of both chambers, and the gazetted copies currently in circulation, are brought before the Committee of the Whole for scrutiny by all members.
Mr. Dasuki cautioned that allowing laws different from those duly passed by the National Assembly to be presented to Nigerians would undermine the integrity of the legislature and violate constitutional provisions.
“Mr Speaker, I will be pleading that all the documents should be brought before the Committee of the Whole. The whole members should see what is in the gazetted copy and see what they passed on the floor so that we can make the relevant amendment. This is a breach of the Constitution. This is a breach of our laws, and this should not be taken by this honorable House,” he said.
Speaker Abbas Tajudeen who presided over today’s plenary set up the committee to look into the allegation.