The Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) has condemned President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s insistence on implementing the newly enacted tax reform laws from Thursday, describing the move as an assault on democracy amid unresolved allegations that the laws were materially altered after passage by the National Assembly.
The CNG unequivocally condemned the posture, which it stated represented an assault on democracy and democratic values. This, according to the group, was ironically coming from an individual who claims to be a beneficiary and product of democratic struggle.
In a statement issued Wednesday by its National Coordinator, Jamilu Aliyu Charanchi, the CNG expressed concern over what it described as credible discrepancies between the versions of the tax laws debated and passed by lawmakers and those eventually transmitted for gazetting.
According to the group, a review of verified facts, expert legal opinions, and submissions by lawmakers and independent observers indicated that the gazettedversions do not reflect what was approved by the National Assembly.
The CNG accused the Presidency, working alongside the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, of pursuing an ulterior agenda that could worsen the hardship faced by Nigerians through what it termed the reckless enforcement of flawed and legally questionable tax reforms.
Charanchi said: “These discrepancies are not minor drafting errors; they are substantive alterations that strike at the heart of legislative authority, constitutional order, and the rule of law.
“This desperate push, despite glaring procedural breaches and widespread public opposition, betrays a governing mindset increasingly detached from democratic accountability, constitutional restraint, and social responsibility.”
Charanchi faulted Tinubu for what it described as a contradiction between his pro-democracy credentials and his current posture, accusing him of ignoring widespread public calls for the suspension and review of the tax laws.
He added, “Rather than heed the legitimate and widespread calls by Nigerians for the suspension and review of these bills, the Presidency has chosen arrogance over dialogue and coercion over consensus.
“This contradiction between professed democratic credentials and present authoritarian conduct exposes a dangerous erosion of the very values the President once claimed to defend.
“Contrary to the Presidency’s claim that ‘no substantial issue has been established,’ the controversy surrounding the alleged post-passage alteration of the tax laws remains serious, unresolved, and constitutionally significant.
“Any law altered after legislative approval, without fresh debate and re-passage by the National Assembly, cannot be considered valid under Nigeria’s constitutional framework. To insist on enforcing such laws amounts to executive overreach and a direct assault on democratic governance.
“No amount of rhetoric about ‘structural reset’ or ‘once-in-a-generation reforms’ can justify bypassing due process or imposing legislation of questionable legitimacy on Nigerians. This posture only reinforces the suspicion that there is an ulterior motive behind the so-called tax reforms.
“The CNG is equally alarmed by the disgraceful conduct of the National Assembly, which has increasingly abandoned its constitutional role as a coequal arm of government.
“The spectacle of lawmakers openly chanting “on your mandate we stand” during President Tinubu’s appearance in the legislative chamber was not merely embarrassing; it was a public declaration of legislative surrender. A legislature that cannot defend the integrity of laws it claims to have passed has forfeited its independence and betrayed the trust of the Nigerian people.
“By failing to assert its authority in the face of alleged alterations to duly passed legislation, the National Assembly has reduced itself to an appendage of the Executive, undermined the doctrine of separation of powers, and weakened democratic accountability. This conduct erodes public confidence and sets a dangerous precedent that threatens the foundations of constitutional governance in Nigeria.
“If, as the Presidency insists, these tax reforms are people-centred and designed to strengthen the social contract, one must ask: why the desperate rush to implement them on January 1, 2026, amid unresolved disputes, public skepticism, and open disagreement even among lawmakers?
“Why the obsession with speed when Nigerians are already grappling with severe economic hardship, poverty, insecurity, and unemployment? Responsible governance demands caution, transparency, and consensus, not intimidation and executive fiat.
“Millions of Nigerians are already overstretched by economic distress. Any tax reform imposed through questionable processes will only deepen public resentment, weaken state–citizen relations, and reinforce perceptions of injustice, exclusion, and elite insensitivity. The CNG rejects any attempt to railroad Nigerians into compliance with laws whose legitimacy is in doubt.”
Questioning the urgency behind the January 1, 2026, implementation date, the CNG asked why the government was rushing reforms amid unresolved disputes, economic hardship, insecurity, poverty, and unemployment.
The coalition warned that imposing tax reforms through questionable processes would deepen public resentment, weaken state–citizen relations, and reinforce perceptions of injustice and exclusion.
CNG demanded an immediate suspension of the planned implementation, full public disclosure of the versions passed by the National Assembly and those gazetted, and an independent legislative and judicial review of the alleged alterations.
“Nigeria is not a monarchy, and presidential authority does not override constitutional order. History has repeatedly shown that governments that mistake silence for consent and sycophancy for legitimacy inevitably face a reckoning.
“The CNG firmly believes that Nigeria’s democracy cannot survive a system where laws are debated in parliament, rewritten elsewhere, and imposed through executive force. Allowing this precedent to stand would endanger not only tax legislation but the integrity of all future laws in the country,” he added.
Folalumi Alaran
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