Opposition to Nigeria’s new tax regime intensified yesterday as an Abuja High Court began hearing a suit seeking to halt the implementation of the legislation scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2026.

The suit was filed by the Incorporated Trustees of the African Initiative Against Abuse of Public Trust against the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the President, the Attorney-General of the Federation, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the National Assembly.

In the action, the plaintiff challenges what it describes as discrepancies in the new tax laws and asks the court to halt their implementation pending the determination of the substantive suit.

Through a motion ex parte, the applicant is seeking an interim injunction restraining the Federal Government, the Federal Inland Revenue Service, the National Assembly and their agencies from implementing, executing or enforcing provisions of the Nigeria Tax Act, 2025; Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025; Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, 2025; and the Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria (Establishment) Act, 2025.

The plaintiff is also asking the court to restrain the President, either personally or through any federal agency created under the new tax laws, from enforcing the Acts in any state of the federation pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.

In addition, the applicant is seeking an order for accelerated hearing of the substantive originating summons, as well as a request that the time allowed for the defendants to file counter-affidavits be abridged to five days.

The suit further seeks leave of court to serve court processes on the President, the Attorney-General of the Federation and the leadership of the National Assembly through substituted means, including service at the Federal Ministry of Justice and the Office of the Clerk of the National Assembly. It also asked the court to deem such substituted service as proper and valid.

The court subsequently fixed Monday for ruling on the application for an interim injunction. The court action came amid mounting public opposition to the tax reforms, with student leaders and other groups stepping up pressure on the Federal Government.

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) called for an immediate suspension of the reforms, issuing a 14-day ultimatum to the authorities and warning that failure to address its concerns would trigger nationwide protests.

In a statement issued yesterday and made available to The Guardian, the association’s National President, Olushola Oladoja, said NANS was acting to protect the interests of students and the wider Nigerian public.

While acknowledging the importance of tax reforms in strengthening national revenue and economic stability, NANS said the current approach to implementation was “fundamentally flawed, poorly communicated, and constitutionally questionable”, warning that it could deepen resentment and distrust between citizens and government authorities.

Oladoja said there was palpable fear and widespread suspicion across the country that the law, if implemented without proper understanding, would further burden citizens already grappling with severe economic hardship.

He called for a well-structured, thorough and far-reaching nationwide public enlightenment campaign through inclusive, community-based engagements. He also urged the National Assembly to conclude its review and investigation into alleged alterations to the law and make its findings public.

“The Tax Reform Law will weaken the viability and capability of many businesses and private Nigerians to cope with the economic shocks that will accompany this policy, particularly when poor citizen education about the law affects the planning and execution of planned financial projects in the coming year,” he said. “A reform of this magnitude requires extensive public education, clarity, and trust-building mechanisms, of which none have been adequately provided.”

Oladoja criticised the Federal Inland Revenue Service for what he described as a failure to design and execute an effective and inclusive public enlightenment process.

“It is a shame that the Federal Inland Revenue Service has failed woefully in its responsibility to design and execute an effective, inclusive, and nationwide public enlightenment process,” he said, faulting the use of social media influencers as ambassadors for the reform.

He said the approach was “very linear, reductionist, isolationary, exclusionary, and elitist”, arguing that it ignored the realities of many Nigerian households without the capacity to engage effectively on social media.

He added that it was more troubling that structured grassroots organisations such as NANS and the National Youth Council of Nigeria were not engaged, despite their extensive reach across communities nationwide.

According to Oladoja, the failure to involve community-based associations, student unions, civil society groups and traditional structures through town-hall meetings and grassroots sensitisation had fuelled the backlash against the law.

The Guardian reports that other groups calling for the suspension of the law include the Minority Caucus of the House of Representatives, the Nigerian Bar Association and the Nigeria Labour Congress.

Minority caucus seeks suspension of tax laws over alleged post-passage alterations

MEANWHILE, the Minority Caucus of the House of Representatives has called for the suspension of the implementation of Nigeria’s newly enacted Tax Reform Laws amid allegations that the versions gazetted and circulated to the public were altered after being passed by the National Assembly and assented to by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The call follows a growing controversy sparked by claims from a member of the House that the tax reform bills approved by both chambers of the National Assembly were materially different from the copies later gazetted and made public. The allegation has triggered intense debate within and outside the legislature, raising questions about the integrity of the law-making and gazetting process.

In response, the House of Representatives recently inaugurated a high-powered investigative committee to examine whether the tax laws were unlawfully amended after passage, fraudulently gazetted or improperly circulated.

Reacting in a statement yesterday, the Minority Leader, Rep. Kingsley Chinda, described the situation as a serious constitutional matter that transcends partisan politics, warning that any tampering with laws duly passed by the legislature would amount to an attack on democracy.

“The allegations strike at the heart of the independence and credibility of the National Assembly,” the caucus said, assuring Nigerians that it would work with the House leadership to ensure a thorough investigation and the prosecution of anyone found culpable.

The Minority Caucus explained that under established legislative procedures, only laws transmitted by the Clerk to the National Assembly to the appropriate government agency can be lawfully gazetted, stressing that the National Assembly remains the sole custodian of the authentic versions of laws passed by the Federation.

Against this backdrop, the lawmakers urged Nigerians to disregard any purported tax laws in circulation that do not bear the signatures of the Clerk to the National Assembly and the President, insisting that such documents could not have originated from the legislature.

The caucus further warned that attempts to foist fake or altered laws on Nigerians constitute a direct assault on the National Assembly’s constitutional role and undermine public confidence in the tax reform agenda.

It therefore called on the Federal Government to suspend implementation of the tax laws pending the outcome of the ongoing investigation and confirmation of the authentic texts to be enforced. It added that Nigerians and the business community are entitled to clear, certified copies of the laws they are expected to obey, noting that legal certainty is essential for compliance, investment and economic stability.

The caucus expressed confidence in President Tinubu’s democratic credentials and urged him to act in the national interest by responding promptly to the concerns raised. The statement was jointly signed by the Minority Whip, Ali Isa J.C.; Deputy Minority Leader, Aliyu Madaki; and Deputy Minority Whip, George Ozodinobi. (The Guardian)

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