The House of Representatives has disowned the report claiming that the minority caucus constituted an ad hoc committee to review the recently enacted tax laws and submitted an interim report.
In a statement signed by the spokesman of the House, Rep. Akin Rotimi on Sunday, the House said while it recognises the minority caucus as a legitimate platform for consultation and dissent within parliamentary democracy, it has no authority to constitute a committee with parliamentary standing.
The House said only the plenary or the speaker, acting under the Standing Orders of the House can set up an ad hoc committee with investigative or oversight powers.
“No political caucus, whether majority or minority, possesses the procedural authority to establish a committee that carries the status of a parliamentary body,” the House said.
It stressed that any action taken by a caucus in that regard was informal, non-binding and without legal or institutional consequence, adding that any report emanating from such a body could not be laid before the House or recognised as an official parliamentary document.
The House described the reported action of the minority caucus as procedurally improper, inconsistent with parliamentary norms and capable of creating unnecessary public confusion, especially as the matter had already been addressed through established legislative mechanisms.
It recalled that in December 2025, the House constituted a bipartisan ad hoc committee, following a formal intervention by an opposition lawmaker, to examine allegations of multiple documents purporting to be official gazettes of the tax legislation.
“The committee, made up of members from both the ruling and opposition parties, was set up in line with the Standing Orders and remains in place.
“Upon the conclusion of its work, it will lay its report before the House in plenary,” the House added.
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The statement further noted that the National Assembly had since published the official gazette of the National Assembly and issued the certified true copies of the tax laws, thereby concluding the legislative process and giving it full legal effect.
It said the National Assembly had also disowned any unofficial documents in circulation, reiterating that only duly gazetted versions and certified copies constituted authentic legislative instruments.
The House warned that the establishment of a parallel caucus-led committee and the circulation of purported interim findings could only deepen public misunderstanding over an issue that had been institutionally resolved.
Reaffirming its commitment to transparency and accountability, the House said all legislative oversight must be conducted strictly in line with the Constitution, the Standing Orders and established parliamentary conventions.
“For the avoidance of doubt, only committees constituted by the House in plenary or by the speaker have parliamentary authority,” the statement said, advising the public to treat any other committee or report as a political initiative and not an official action of the House.
