By Ihechi Enyinnaya
The Chairman of the Minority Caucus Ad-hoc Committee on Tax Laws in the House of Representatives, Hon. Afam Victor Ogene, has cautioned that dismissing the committee’s interim report on alleged alterations to the Tax Reform Acts could encourage impunity and weaken the integrity of the National Assembly.
Ogene was reacting to comments credited to the Deputy Spokesperson of the House, Hon. Philip Agbese, who reportedly said the Minority Caucus committee’s interim findings had been overtaken by events following the release of the Certified True Copies (CTCs) of the tax laws.
In a statement issued on Saturday, Ogene said he was surprised by what he described as a “dismissive” posture from a principal officer of the House, stressing that such a position carried institutional responsibility and should not be reduced to a personal opinion. Drawing from his experience as a former Deputy Spokesperson of the 7th House of Representatives, Ogene said the remarks appeared to blur the line between the Legislature and the Executive.
He clarified that the Minority Caucus committee’s interim report did not indict the National Assembly or question its legislative processes. Rather, he said, the report highlighted attempts by unnamed external actors to illegally alter laws after passage, an action he described as a direct threat to the Legislature’s functional integrity and independence.
According to Ogene, the Minority Caucus set up its committee in line with parliamentary best practices to independently establish facts surrounding the alleged alterations. He noted that this was done alongside a separate committee earlier constituted by the House leadership and chaired by Rt. Hon. Muktar Aliyu Betara, with a mandate to compare the versions of the Tax Acts passed by lawmakers and the gazetted copies to identify discrepancies.
He questioned why the Betara-led committee was still sitting if, as claimed by the Deputy Spokesperson, the issue had already been resolved by the release of the CTCs.
Ogene further argued that the Minority Caucus committee’s findings pointed to serious interference by actors within the government bureaucracy, which he said undermined the constitutional authority of the National Assembly and embarrassed both the institution and the country.
He warned that portraying the matter as settled could amount to tacit acceptance of the alleged wrongdoing and weaken accountability mechanisms within the democratic system.
“Democratic institutions are strengthened when accountability is upheld, not when official malfeasance is overlooked,” Ogene said, adding that lawmakers across party lines should collectively condemn any actions that compromise the Legislature’s independence.
While expressing concern, he said he remained confident that the House leadership, under Speaker Abbas Tajudeen, would protect the autonomy of the National Assembly and ensure that the public interest prevailed.