Director-General, Budget Office of the Federation, Tanimu Yakubu has described the news making the rounds about the alteration of new tax reform Acts as a careless amplification of unverified claims.
Defending the integrity of the Tax Reform Acts, in a statement today, December 31, Tanimu Yakubu warned that democratic integrity is endangered by such careless amplification of unverified claims.
“A nation cannot be governed by insinuation or sustained on circulating documents of uncertain origin.”
He said that public confidence, once shaken by speculation, is often difficult to restore.
He therefore reaffirmed the integrity of Nigeria’s newly enacted Tax Reform Acts, even as he further cautioned against what it described as governance by speculation and unverified claims.
The Budget Office boss said that he had taken note of concerns raised by the Minority Caucus of the House of Representatives, acknowledging that the sanctity of the law is central to constitutional democracy and not a mere procedural formality.
He said that any suggestion that a law could be altered after debate, passage, authentication and presidential assent without due process would strike at the core of the Republic and undermine citizens’ right to be governed by transparent and stable laws
He emphasized that both government and citizens share a common interest in truth, clarity and due process, and that public finance depends heavily on trust in the legality and clarity of fiscal laws.
He welcomed the decision of the National Assembly to investigate the allegations, describing institutional inquiry, not conjecture as the appropriate response to claims of illegality.
On public access to the law, the DG agreed that Nigerians and the business community are entitled to clear and authoritative texts of all laws they are required to obey, saying however, that the authenticity of legislation is determined by certified legislative records and official publication processes, not by informal or viral reproductions.
Tanimu Yakubu stressed the importance of separation of powers, warning that claims suggesting Nigeria is being governed by “fake laws,” if not backed by established facts, risk eroding confidence in democratic institutions.
He said that legislative scrutiny should not be dismissed by the executive, and that oversight is a constitutional duty, not an act of hostility.
From a fiscal perspective, the Budget Office DG said that legal certainty is essential for revenue projections, macroeconomic stability, budget credibility and investor confidence.
“While it is not the custodian of legislative records, uncertainty around operative tax provisions directly affects economic planning.”
To restore confidence, he proposed a set of measures, including the publication of verified reference texts in a single public repository, orderly access to Certified True Copies for stakeholders, clear public explanations where discrepancies are alleged, and strict alignment of all implementing regulations with authenticated legal texts.
On the calls for suspension of the tax reforms, the DG cautioned against allowing prudence to slide into paralysis, saying that properly implemented tax reform is necessary to reduce dependence on borrowing and inflationary financing, while easing indirect burdens on vulnerable citizens.
“Where clarification is required, it must be provided; where correction is required, it must be effected; where investigation is required, it must proceed.”
He stressed that governance and reform should not be stalled by unresolved conjecture.
Tanimu Yakubu made it clear that taxation is a democratic covenant that binds citizens and the state, insisting that compliance depends on transparency and trust.
He called on political actors to protect institutions as much as positions, even as he advised citizens and businesses to rely on verified sources and resist the spread of unauthenticated information.
