The House of Representatives has disowned the interim report issued by an ad hoc committee set up by the Minority Caucus to review the recently enacted tax laws, describing the move as procedurally invalid and without institutional authority.
In a statement issued yesterday, the House spokesperson, Akin Rotimi, said only the House sitting in plenary or the Speaker has the constitutional power, under the Standing Orders, to constitute an ad hoc committee with parliamentary status.
“No political caucus, whether majority or minority, has the authority to establish a committee that carries the weight of a parliamentary body,” Rotimi stated.
While acknowledging the important role of political caucuses in consultation, coordination and policy advocacy, he stressed that such groups have no investigative, oversight or legislative powers. Any action taken by a caucus in that regard, he said, remains informal, non-binding and without legal or institutional effect.
Rotimi added that any committee formed outside established procedures lacks recognition by the House, noting that reports produced by such bodies cannot be presented at plenary, received as parliamentary documents, or form part of the official legislative or oversight record of the National Assembly.
According to him, the Minority Caucus’ action runs contrary to parliamentary norms and risks misleading the public, especially as concerns surrounding the tax laws have already been addressed through proper legislative channels.
He recalled that in December 2025, the House constituted a bipartisan ad hoc committee—following concerns raised by an opposition lawmaker over multiple documents purporting to be official gazettes of the tax legislation. That committee, he said, was validly established under the Standing Orders and remains active, with its report to be presented upon completion.
Rotimi further noted that the National Assembly has since published the official gazette and issued Certified True Copies (CTCs) of the tax laws, thereby concluding the legislative process and conferring full legal effect on the enactments.
He emphasized that the National Assembly has also disowned any unofficial documents in circulation, reiterating that only the gazetted laws and duly certified copies constitute authentic legislative instruments.
Warning that the creation of a parallel, caucus-led committee could deepen public confusion, Rotimi said the matter had been “institutionally resolved and overtaken by events.”
Reaffirming the House’s commitment to transparency and accountability, he stressed that these principles must be pursued strictly within constitutional and procedural limits.
“For the avoidance of doubt, only committees constituted by the House in plenary or by the Speaker have parliamentary authority,” he said, urging the public to treat any other committee or report as a political initiative, not an official action of the House of Representatives.