Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, a prominent member of the All Progressives Congress and former National Publicity Secretary of the now-defunct New Peoples Democratic Party, has called on the National Assembly to take immediate action against President Bola Tinubu.

Eze described the purported changes to the recently passed Tax Reform Bill as a grave constitutional violation and demanded that impeachment procedures be started right away.

Both chambers of the National Assembly approved the Tax Reform Bill, which aims to reduce borrowing, increase revenue, enhance administration, and broaden Nigeria’s tax base.

Sokoto State senator Abdulsammad Dasuki of the Peoples Democratic Party voiced concerns during a House of Representatives plenary session.

Dasuki claimed that the versions of tax legislation that were discussed and approved by legislators differed from those that were accessible to the general public. He raised a Point of Order, claiming that the gazetted law did not represent what lawmakers had passed and that his legislative rights had been abused. The legislator claimed to have spent three days examining the gazetted tax laws, the Votes and Proceedings, and the harmonised versions that both chambers had approved.

He asserted that he had found clauses that were absent from the legislature’s initial approved bill.

In response, Eze compared the purported insertions to the biblical narrative found in Matthew 13:25, which states, “The enemy sowed tares when men slept.”

“After lawmakers legislated on the draft bill and sent it to President Tinubu for assent, in the thick of the night, while lawmakers had retreated to slumberland and Nigerians were deep in sleep, the President stealthily grabbed the document, tampered with it, and distorted the law to suit his personal perspective of what a tax law should be,” Eze alleged.

In the wake of the issue, Eze also charged Senate President Godswill Akpabio with impeding transparency.

“And since this embarrassment was made public, Senate President Godswill Akpabio has disappointingly acted to sweep it under the carpet. He has denied lawmakers access to the certified true copies of the bills.”

“The restriction placed on lawmakers from accessing the certified copies by Sen. Akpabio has deepened suspicion and internal wrangling within the legislature,” he added.

Eze described the purported modification as a breach of constitutional order and a criminal takeover of the legislative process.

According to him, the behaviour constituted egregious misconduct, abuse of power, and a blatant violation of the constitution.

“Such actions amount to gross misconduct, abuse of office, and violation of the constitution and should quickly trigger impeachment proceedings against the President under the constitutional provisions governing executive accountability.”

He emphasised that the President is not authorised by the Constitution to change legislation that has been passed by the legislature.

“Any discrepancy between the enrolled bill and the passed bill is treated as a serious constitutional defect.”

“The business of law-making is the exclusive function of the legislature. Therefore, by his action, the President has usurped legislative authority.”

Eze cautioned that such meddling undermines the separation of powers and endangers democratic administration.

He denounced the National Assembly leadership’s inaction, claiming that it promotes executive overreach and erodes public confidence.

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