Former Vice President and 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has accused the Federal Government of illegally altering Nigeria’s tax reform laws after they were passed by the National Assembly.
Atiku made the allegation in a statement shared on X (formerly Twitter), where he described the alleged post-passage changes as a grave constitutional violation and an attack on democratic governance.
“Forgery of Tinubu’s tax reform law is an act of treason against the Nigerian people.
“The illegal and unauthorised alterations made to Nigeria’s tax legislation after passage by the National Assembly represent a brazen act of treason against the Nigerian people and a direct assault on our constitutional democracy,” he wrote.
According to Atiku, the executive arm allegedly inserted new provisions into the tax bills after parliamentary approval, in violation of Sections 4 and 58 of the 1999 Constitution.
He claimed the changes granted tax authorities coercive powers that were not approved by lawmakers, including arrest powers, property seizure and garnishment without court orders, as well as enforcement sales without judicial oversight.
“These provisions transform tax collectors into quasi-law enforcement agencies, stripping Nigerians of due process protections that the National Assembly deliberately included,” Atiku said.
