New Tax Law Changes Linked to Executive Rascality – Reps Lawmaker Ogene

The Chairman of the House Minority Caucus Ad-hoc Committee, Afam Ogene, has attributed the alterations discovered in the officially gazetted version of Nigeria’s newly enacted tax law to what he described as executive rascality.

Ogene made this position known on Friday while responding to questions during an interview on Arise Television, which was monitored by LMSINT MEDIA.

According to the lawmaker, the inconsistencies identified in the new tax legislation can largely be traced to the overzealous conduct of certain officials within the executive arm of government. He suggested that such actions may have resulted in unauthorized modifications that deviated from what was lawfully approved by the National Assembly.

He explained that within parliamentary procedure, committees are typically granted seven to fourteen days to submit a comprehensive report once they are constituted. In situations where the allotted timeframe proves insufficient, the committee is expected to present an interim report to the authority that established it, clearly stating the reasons additional time is required to complete a more detailed investigation.

Ogene stated that the committee he chairs was instructed to conclude its work within seven days, which prompted an initial assessment rather than a full investigative conclusion. As a result, the committee’s immediate task was to confirm whether the reported discrepancies truly existed.

“So far, what we have done is to establish that these issues are real,” he noted, adding that further efforts are necessary to determine who was responsible for the alterations, whether acting as individuals or on behalf of corporate interests.

The legislator emphasized that the nature of the discrepancies strongly points to excessive enthusiasm on the part of some executive officials. He summarized this conduct as executive rascality, noting that there is often a mistaken belief within the executive branch that bills initiated by them should be returned unchanged after legislative consideration.

While he avoided using the phrase “rubber stamp,” Ogene stressed that the National Assembly is not designed to merely approve executive submissions without scrutiny. He remarked that legislative work does not operate on a “garbage in, garbage out” basis, underscoring the importance of the 360 lawmakers who collectively serve to review, debate, and refine proposed legislation.

He further outlined the established lawmaking process, which includes a first reading, second reading, public hearings, and deliberations by the Committee of the Whole. This is followed by harmonization between the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Once this process is concluded, the Clerk of the National Assembly is responsible for preparing a clean and accurate copy of the bill. This final version is then transmitted to the President, with the expectation that it faithfully reflects what was duly passed by the National Assembly.

Ogene maintained that any deviation from this process undermines legislative integrity and raises serious concerns about accountability within the executive arm.