SERAP Urges CCB to Investigate Senators Over Alleged Electoral and Tax Law Amendments

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has formally requested the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) to launch an investigation into senators and other public servants. The probe is to examine alleged irregularities during the legislative process for the Electoral Act Amendment Bill and the Tax Reform Laws.

In a statement released on Sunday by SERAP Deputy Director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation seeks a prompt and comprehensive inquiry into claims that certain senators purportedly omitted provisions for the electronic transmission of election results from the Electoral Act Amendment Bill during a plenary session. SERAP notes this occurred despite a majority vote in favour of their inclusion and without subsequent debate regarding the removal.

"Information available to us indicates that certain members of the Senate allegedly removed provisions pertaining to the electronic transmission of election results from the Electoral Act Amendment Bill during plenary. This action followed a majority vote by senators in favour of including these provisions, and it was done without any debate on the proposed removal of these specific clauses," SERAP stated.

Furthermore, the organisation has called on the CCB to investigate alleged alterations within the Tax Reform Bills. These alleged changes reportedly created inconsistencies between the versions agreed upon by the National Assembly and the final copies that were signed into law and officially gazetted by the federal government.

"In a related development, the National Assembly has recently faced allegations of unlawful alterations and significant deviations between the tax reform bills passed by the legislative body and the tax reform laws as gazetted by the federal government.

"The issue was brought to light by a lawmaker from Sokoto, Abdussamad Dasuki, under a matter of privilege. He drew the attention of the House to purported discrepancies between the harmonised versions of the tax reform bills, as passed by both chambers of the National Assembly, and the copies gazetted by the federal government.

"The lawmakers asserted that the alterations found in the gazetted copies had not received legislative approval. These alleged unlawful modifications cast doubt on the legality and legitimacy of both the law-making procedures and the versions of the tax laws published by the Federal Ministry of Information," the petition elaborated.

However, THISDAY has reported that the Senate has refuted claims of removing provisions for electronic transmission of election results. The Senate clarified that it only removed the phrase "real time" from the relevant sentence, citing judicial concerns as the reason.

Similarly, the National Assembly had initiated investigations into the reported discrepancies concerning the tax bill. They subsequently released a "certified" version of the Acts to address and resolve the contradictions. The law officially came into effect on January 1, 2026.

SERAP highlighted that its petition is submitted in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 9 of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers, as outlined in the Fifth Schedule, Part 1 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). It also references sections 5 and 13 of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act.

The organisation alleged that the processes leading to the passage of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill and the enactment of the Tax Reform Laws were characterised by alterations to bill provisions without adequate debate or adherence to due process. It also pointed to modifications in the Tax Reform Bill that allegedly lacked the approval of the National Assembly.

"The petition addresses concerns related to conflicts of interest, abuse of office, failure to disclose interests, absence of due process, and the erosion of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers in the execution of legislative duties.

"Furthermore, there are allegations suggesting that certain amendments may have been removed or introduced into the Electoral Act Amendment Bill and the Tax Reform Laws to serve private or political interests rather than the broader public interest," the petition stated.

Citing constitutional provisions, SERAP emphasised that public officers are obligated to avoid situations where their personal interests might conflict with their official responsibilities.