By Ikenna Osuoha
Deputy Spokesperson for House of Representatives, Rep. Philip Agbese, has dismissed claims by Sen. Ali Ndume (Borno South) that the tax laws recently passed by the National Assembly were falsified, describing it as unfounded and misleading.
Agbese told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday that the allegations by Ndume were not only mischievous but also capable of creating unnecessary tension and generating public distrust in the legislature.
NAN reports that Agbese spoke against the backdrop of comments by Ndume criticising Senate President Godswill Akpabio for insisting that the newly-passed tax laws were not tainted by inconsistencies.
Ndume had, in an interview on a popular television programme recently, claimed that there were at least two versions of the gazetteed tax laws, arguing that the bills signed into law by President Bola Tinubu were different from those passed by the National Assembly.
The Borno South senator, who claimed that he had alerted the senate leadership to the discrepancies, faulted Akpabio for dismissing the claims instead of launching a probe into the alleged disparities.
Agbese, however, reaffirmed that due legislative processes were followed and that issues being raised have already been addressed institutionally.
He explained that it was wrong for anyone to suggest that the national assembly altered the provisions of the tax laws, stressing that both chambers were committed to transparency and accountability.
According to him, the House has already taken proactive steps by setting up a committee to examine concerns surrounding the tax legislations, making insinuations of cover-up or legislative fraud unfounded.
“It is sheer mischief to suggest that the tax laws were falsified,” he said.
Agbese, who said that the matter should not be politicised or sensationalised, noted that there are legislative review mechanisms to address genuine errors or ambiguities where they exist.
He said: “This is exactly why the House set up a committee—to clarify the facts. Nigerians should not be misled into thinking that lawmakers are acting in bad faith.”
The deputy spokesperson said that lawmaking must be built on facts and due process, warning that speculative narratives could distract the legislators from their efforts at reforming Nigeria’s tax system in the overall public interest.(NAN)
