ABUJA — The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged President Bola Tinubu to direct the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), to publicly release certified true copies of tax bills transmitted from the National Assembly and the tax laws subsequently signed into law.
SERAP said the call followed allegations of discrepancies between the tax bills passed by the legislature and the versions later gazetted by the Federal Government.
In a Freedom of Information request dated December 20, 2025, the organisation asked that certified copies of the relevant documents be made widely available to enable public scrutiny. The laws listed 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.
The group also asked the President to direct the Attorney-General to clarify whether the versions of the tax bills received from the National Assembly were identical to those eventually signed into law and published in the official gazette.
SERAP’s request was contained in a statement signed on Sunday by its Deputy Director, Mr Kolawole Oluwadare.
In the letter, SERAP further called on the President to set up an independent panel of inquiry to probe allegations that the tax laws were materially altered after they were passed by lawmakers. The organisation suggested that the panel be chaired by a retired Justice of the Supreme Court or Court of Appeal and that its findings be made public.
According to SERAP, publishing certified true copies of both the bills received from the National Assembly and the laws signed by the President would allow Nigerians to compare the documents and determine whether any unlawful changes were made before gazetting.
The organisation warned that any such alterations would violate the provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), undermine international human rights standards, and breach the principles of the rule of law and separation of powers.
SERAP said it expects action on the request within seven days of receipt of the letter, adding that it would consider legal steps to compel compliance in the public interest if no response is received.
The call followed concerns raised on December 17 in the House of Representatives by Abdussamad Dasuki (PDP, Sokoto), who drew attention to alleged differences between harmonised tax bills approved by lawmakers and the versions later published by the Federal Government.
