A member of the House of Representatives, Abdulsammad Dasuki (PDP, Sokoto), on Wednesday raised a matter of privilege in the House, alleging inconsistencies between the tax laws passed by the National Assembly and the versions later gazetted and released to the public.
Citing Order Six, Rule Two of the House Rules, Dasuki informed lawmakers that his legislative privilege had been breached, contending that the gazetted versions of the laws did not faithfully represent what was debated, approved, and passed on the floor of the House.
He said that after the passage of the tax bills, he spent the last three days reviewing the gazetted copies alongside the House Votes and Proceedings, as well as the harmonised version agreed upon by both chambers of the National Assembly, and discovered notable discrepancies.
“I was here, I gave my vote and it was counted, and I am seeing something completely different,” Dasuki said, adding that he obtained copies of the gazetted laws from the Ministry of Information and found them to be inconsistent with what was approved by both the House and the Senate.
The lawmaker clarified that his address was not meant to serve as a motion, but rather to draw the House’s attention to what he termed a “serious violation” of legislative procedure and the Constitution.
He urged the Speaker to make certain that all important documents such as the harmonised versions, the Votes and Proceedings from both chambers, and the currently circulating gazetted copies be submitted to the Committee of the Whole for comprehensive review by the members.
Dasuki warned that allowing laws that deviate from those duly passed by the National Assembly to be released to the public would undermine the legislature’s credibility and constitute a breach of constitutional provisions.
“Mr. Speaker, I will be pleading that all the documents should be brought before the Committee of the Whole Thank you. The whole members should see what is in the gazetted copy and see what they passed on the floor so that we can make the relevant amendment. Mr. Speaker, this is the breach of the Constitution.
“This is the breach of our laws, and this should not be taken by this honorable House. Thank you Mr. Speaker,” he said.
