The Budget Office has cautioned calls for the suspension of tax reform laws saying halting the implementation of the laws would risk sliding “from prudence into paralysis”
The Budget Office of the Federation has outlined a series of measures aimed at restoring public confidence in Nigeria’s newly enacted Tax Reform Acts, while cautioning against growing calls for the suspension of the laws amid allegations of post-passage alterations.
In a statement issued on Wednesday and signed by its Director-General, Tanimu Yakubu, the Budget Office said that while concerns raised by the Minority Caucus of the House of Representatives deserved institutional attention, halting the implementation of the tax reforms would risk sliding “from prudence into paralysis.”
According to the Office, legal certainty around tax laws is critical to revenue planning, macroeconomic stability, budget credibility, and investor confidence, warning that prolonged uncertainty could negatively affect economic planning and public finance.
To address the controversy and rebuild trust, the Budget Office proposed concrete steps, including the publication of verified reference texts of the tax laws in a single public repository, orderly access to Certified True Copies for stakeholders, and clear public explanations wherever discrepancies are alleged. It also called for strict alignment of all implementing regulations with authenticated legislative texts.
“These measures are necessary to ensure clarity, transparency, and confidence in the fiscal framework,” the statement said, adding that both government and citizens share a common interest in truth, due process, and institutional integrity.
The Office reaffirmed the integrity of the tax reform Acts, cautioning against what it described as “governance by speculation and unverified claims” following allegations that the laws were altered after passage and presidential assent.
It stressed that any suggestion that legislation could be changed outside constitutionally prescribed procedures would strike at the heart of Nigeria’s democracy.
“Any suggestion that a law could be altered after debate, passage, authentication, and presidential assent without due process would strike at the core of the Republic and undermine citizens’ right to be governed by transparent and stable laws,” the Budget Office said.
At the same time, it warned that democratic integrity is also endangered by the careless amplification of unverified claims. “A nation cannot be governed by insinuation or sustained on circulating documents of uncertain origin,” the statement noted, adding that public confidence, once eroded by speculation, is often difficult to restore.
While clarifying that it is not the custodian of legislative records, the Budget Office explained that the authenticity of laws is determined by certified legislative documents and official publication processes, not by informal or viral reproductions.
It welcomed the National Assembly’s decision to investigate the allegations, describing institutional inquiry, rather than conjecture, as the appropriate response to claims of illegality.
The Office also underscored the importance of separation of powers, noting that legislative scrutiny should not be dismissed by the executive, as oversight is a constitutional duty. However, it warned that claims suggesting Nigeria is being governed by “fake laws,” if unsupported by established facts, could severely erode confidence in democratic institutions.
Addressing demands for the suspension of the tax reforms, the Budget Office argued that properly implemented tax reform is essential to reducing dependence on borrowing and inflationary financing, while easing indirect burdens on vulnerable citizens.
“Where clarification is required, it must be provided; where correction is required, it must be effected; where investigation is required, it must proceed,” the statement said. “But governance and reform should not be stalled by unresolved conjecture.”
The Budget Office concluded by describing taxation as a democratic covenant between the state and citizens, stressing that compliance depends on transparency and trust.
It urged political actors to protect institutions as much as positions, and called on Nigerians and the business community to rely on verified sources and resist the spread of unauthenticated information.
