By Adedapo Adesanya

Former Vice-President, Mr Atiku Abubakar, has recommended that the National Assembly shelve plans to re-gazette the recently passed controversial tax reform laws, and instead carry out a fresh passage ahead of the implementation by January 1, 2026.

Mr Atiku, who came second in the 2023 presidential polls, in a statement described the discrepancy in the gazetted copy of the tax law as a “grave constitutional issue”.

He noted that any law published in a form different from what was approved by lawmakers is “a nullity”.

“The confirmation by the Senate that the gazetted version of the Tinubu Tax Act does not reflect what was duly passed by the National Assembly raises a grave constitutional issue,” he stated.

“A law that was never passed in the form in which it was published is not law. It is a nullity. Under Section 58 of the 1999 Constitution, the lawmaking process is clear: passage by both chambers, presidential assent, and only then gazetting.

“Gazetting is an administrative act; it does not create law, amend law, or cure illegality.”

He warned that post-passage insertions, deletions, or modifications without legislative approval amount to “forgery, not a clerical error”.

“No administrative directive by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, or the Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas, can validate such a defect or justify a re-gazetting without re-passage and fresh presidential assent,” he added.

He also said attempts to rush a re-gazetting while delaying legislative investigations “undermine parliamentary oversight and set a dangerous precedent.

Recall that the National Assembly announced that it would work with relevant ministries, departments, and agencies to re-gazette the tax reform laws after a member of the House of Representatives, Mr Abdussamad Dasuki, on December 17 said there are discrepancies between the tax reform law passed by the national assembly and the gazetted copy available to the public.

Other quarters including the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) have also called for the suspension of the implementation of the tax laws, pending a full investigation

The tax reform law, expected to take full effect in January 2026, faced resistance even before its passage into law.

However, the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, has said the January 1, 2026 date for the implementation of the Nigerian Tax Act and the Nigerian Tax Administration Act is sacrosanct.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Unlisted Security Index (NSI) of the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange expanded by 0.32 per cent or 11.31 points on the first trading day after the Christmas break on Monday to 3,552.00 points from the 3,540.69 points it ended in the preceding trading session, which was last Wednesday.

Equally, the market capitalisation of the trading platform increased during the session by 0.32 per cent or N6.78 billion to N2.125 trillion from N2.118 trillion.

The growth recorded yesterday was spurred by four price gainers led by Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS), which expanded by N3.25 Kobo to close at N35.80 per share against the previous trading value of N32.55 per share.

Further, Golden Capital Plc improved its value by 93 Kobo to sell at N10.22 per unit versus N9.29 per unit, Geo-Fluids Plc appreciated by 50 Kobo to trade at N6.00 per share compared with the preceding session’s N5.50 per share, and IPWA Plc added 8 Kobo to quote at 93 Kobo per unit versus 85 Kobo per unit.

Business Post reports that yesterday, there were three price losers led by MRS Oil Plc as it dropped N21.65 to sell at N194.94 per share versus N216.59 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc depleted by N2.18 to N49.12 per unit from N51.30 per unit, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc slid by 6 Kobo to 58 Kobo per share from 64 Kobo per share.

The volume of trades went up by 4,346.3 per cent on Monday to 29.6 million units from 665,419 units, the value of transactions skyrocketed by 9,832.8 per cent to N1.5 billion from N15.5 million, and the number of deals jumped by 371.4 per cent to 33 deals from 7 deals.

Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc remained the most active stock by value with 5.8 billion units exchanged for N16.4 billion. This was followed by Okitipupa Plc with 187.6 million units valued at N10.9 billion, and MRS Oil Plc with 36.1 million units worth N4.9 billion.

In terms of volume, InfraCredit Plc also led on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units traded for N16.4 billion, IGI Plc ranked second with 1.2 billion units worth N420.7 million, while Impresit Bakolori Plc ws third with 536.9 million units valued at N524.9 million.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira resumed from the Christmas holiday on Monday, December 29, with an 87 Kobo or 0.06 per cent gain against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) to sell for N1,442.51/$1, in contrast to last Wednesday’s price of N1,443.38/$1.

Equally, the Naira appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market yesterday by N3.91 to close at N1,945.66/£1 compared with the preceding session’s rate of N1,949.57/£1 and gained N3.91 on the Euro to finish at N1,697.40/€1 versus the previous session’s closing price of N1,701.65/€1.

At the GTBank FX counter, the Nigerian currency improved its value against the greenback during the session by N8 to settle at N1,457/$1 compared with the preceding trading day’s rate of N1,465/$1 and at the black market, the Naira gain N5 to finish at N1,480/$1.

The value of the Naira firmed up on Monday after receiving support from the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, who reassured investors and international partners that Nigeria’s economy remains stable and resilient despite a recent joint security operation conducted by Nigerian and the US forces in Sokoto on Christmas Day.

The operation, carried out on December 25, targeted ISIS-linked camps in Sokoto, with no reported civilian casualties.

US President Donald Trump described the strikes as “powerful and deadly” against “ISIS terrorist scum,” endangering Christian communities.

Ahead of the market reopening from the long Christmas break, Mr Edun stressed that Nigeria was “not at war with itself, nor with any nation,” but was decisively confronting terrorism in collaboration with trusted international partners.

This alongside efforts by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) helped eased pressure on the local currency. The apex last week stepped up FX intervention with $150 million.

The market expects near-term exchange rate stability to persist underpinned by policy measures and improving market confidence.

As for the cryptocurrency market, major tokens declined in thin year-end trading, with Bitcoin (BTC) hovering around $87,300, down about more than 2 per cent alongside some top coins, with BTC losing 2.3 per cent to finish at $87,366.73.

Further, Cardano (ADA) declined by 6.5 per cent to $0.3521, Solana (SOL) went down by 3.1 per cent to $123.76, Ethereum (ETH) lost 2.9 per cent to quote at $2,944.55, Dogecoin (DOGE) depreciated by 2.8 per cent to $0.1232, Ripple (XRP) shrank by 2.1 per cent to $1.86, Litecoin (LTC) slumped by 1.7 per cent to $78.15, and Binance Coin (BNB) fell by 1.3 per cent to $853.03, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.