By Gabriel Ameh
Civil rights activist and lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, has raised serious concerns over reports that the Tax Reform Bill recently assented to by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu may be materially different from the version passed by the National Assembly.
In a statement on Wednesday, Adeyanju described the allegation as deeply troubling, warning that if confirmed, it would amount to one of the gravest assaults on Nigeria’s democratic process since the return to civilian rule in 1999.
According to him, in any constitutional democracy, the powers of the President are clearly defined, including the obligation to assent only to the exact version of a bill duly passed by the legislature. Any alteration after legislative approval—whether through omission, addition, or substitution—he argued, constitutes legislative fraud and a direct affront to the sovereignty of the Nigerian people.
“A President cannot lawfully assent to a bill that is different from what the National Assembly passed. Any deviation from this process undermines the rule of law and ridicules the foundations of our democracy,” Adeyanju said.
He therefore called on the Tinubu administration to immediately address the allegations by publishing the authenticated copy of the bill as passed by the National Assembly, alongside the version that received presidential assent.
Adeyanju warned that failure to provide a clear and transparent explanation would further erode public trust in government and reinforce perceptions of executive impunity.
“The government must come clean. Anything short of full disclosure will only deepen suspicions and damage Nigeria’s democratic credibility,” he added.
