Atiku Accuses Tinubu Of Forging Tax Reform Law, Calls It ‘Act Of Treason’

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused the administration of President Bola Tinubu of illegally altering Nigeria’s tax reform legislation after its passage by the National Assembly, describing the alleged action as “a brazen act of treason against the Nigerian people and a direct assault on our constitutional democracy.”

In a statement posted on his official X platform on Tuesday, Atiku said the “illegal and unauthorized alterations made to Nigeria’s tax legislation after passage by the National Assembly” amounted to constitutional violations and executive overreach.

According to him, the alleged forgery “undermines the foundational principle of legislative supremacy in the making of laws” and exposes “a government more interested in extracting wealth from struggling citizens than empowering them to prosper.”

Atiku described the alleged alterations as “draconian,” accusing the executive branch of subverting Sections 4 and 58 of the 1999 Constitution by inserting provisions that were never approved by lawmakers.

He listed what he described as “substantive changes” allegedly added after parliamentary approval, including “arrest powers granted to tax authorities,” “property seizure and garnishment without court orders,” and “enforcement sales conducted 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,” he said.

The former vice president also raised concerns about what he described as increased financial burdens imposed on citizens and businesses, citing a “mandatory 20% security deposit before appealing tax assessments,” “compound interest on tax debts,” “quarterly reporting requirements with lowered thresholds,” and “forced USD computation for petroleum operations.”

He said the measures “erect financial barriers that prevent ordinary Nigerians from challenging unjust assessments while increasing compliance costs for businesses already struggling in a difficult economy.”

Atiku further accused the government of removing accountability mechanisms from the law, including the “deletion of quarterly and annual reporting obligations to the National Assembly,” “elimination of strategic planning submission requirements,” and “removal of ministerial supervisory provisions.”

“By stripping away oversight mechanisms, the government has insulated itself from accountability while expanding its powers, a hallmark of authoritarian governance,” he said.

He argued that the alleged constitutional violation reflected “a troubling reality: a government obsessed with imposing ever-increasing tax burdens on impoverished Nigerians rather than creating conditions for prosperity.”

Citing Nigeria’s economic challenges, Atiku said, “Nigeria’s poverty rate remains alarmingly high, unemployment continues to devastate families, and inflation erodes purchasing power daily,” adding that the administration had chosen “the path of aggressive extraction from an already struggling populace.”

He warned that “true economic growth comes from empowering citizens, not impoverishing them further through punitive taxation and erosion of legal protections,” stressing that a “thriving economy with prosperous citizens naturally generates robust tax revenues.”

Atiku called on key institutions and stakeholders to act, urging “the Executive to immediately suspend the implementation of the tax law effective January 1, 2026 to give room for a proper investigation.”

He also asked “the National Assembly to immediately rectify these illegal alterations through proper legislative processes and hold accountable those responsible for this constitutional breach,” while calling on “the Judiciary to strike down these unconstitutional provisions and reaffirm the sanctity of the legislative process.”

The former vice president further appealed to “Civil Society and all Nigerians to reject this assault on democratic principles and demand governance that serves the people rather than exploiting them,” and urged “the EFCC to immediately investigate and prosecute those found culpable in the illegal alteration of our laws to extort and defraud the Nigerian people.”

“What the National Assembly did not pass cannot become law,” Atiku said, adding that “this fundamental principle must be defended, or we risk descending into arbitrary rule where constitutional safeguards mean nothing.”

He concluded by stating that “the Nigerian people deserve better than a government that circumvents democracy to impose hardship,” insisting on “accountability, constitutional compliance, and economic policies that build prosperity rather than deepen poverty.”