The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, made the clarification on Tuesday in Abuja amid public controversy over reports that the gazetted copy of the Tax Administration Act had been altered.
Idris said the laws followed the proper legislative route, including consultations, debates at the National Assembly and eventual assent by the President, stressing that the administration recognises only one authentic version.
“Government is going ahead with commencement of implementation, noting as changed,” Idris said last night.
He explained that concerns about possible discrepancies in the gazette were raised at the National Assembly and that the executive would rely on the outcome of the legislature’s probe.
He said: “I think it is important for us to wait for the National Assembly to look at this again to tell us whether there were discrepancies or not.
“This is, at this point, an affair of the National Assembly to which I have no jurisdiction, and I have no authority to speak about.
“As far as the government of Nigeria is concerned, there’s only one version of that tax document.”
The minister spoke while reviewing the performance of the Tinubu administration in 2025, outlining achievements as well as challenges faced during the year.
His stance was supported by the Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Taiwo Oyedele, and the immediate past Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Muhammad Nami, who both urged Nigerians to ignore unofficial documents in circulation.
