The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has petitioned the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), urging it to investigate alleged abuse of office, conflict of interest and due process violations in the amendment of the Electoral Act and the passage of recent tax reform laws.
In a petition dated February 7, 2026, and addressed to the Chairman of the Bureau, Dr. Abdullahi Usman Bello, SERAP accused some members of the Senate of allegedly removing provisions on the electronic transmission of election results from the Electoral Act amendment Bill during plenary, despite an earlier majority vote in favour of retaining the provisions and without any debate on their removal.
The organisation also called on the Bureau to probe alleged alterations to the Tax Reform Bills, which it said resulted in discrepancies between the harmonised versions passed by the National Assembly and the copies signed into law and subsequently gazetted by the Federal Government.
Signed by SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the petition said the allegations raised “issues of conflict of interest, abuse of office, non-disclosure of interests, lack of due process, and erosion of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers in the exercise of legislative power.”
SERAP said its petition was filed pursuant to relevant provisions of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers contained in the Fifth Schedule to the 1999 Constitution (as amended), as well as sections of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act.
“Where lawmaking is shaped by abuse of office and conflict of interest, it ceases to be a legitimate exercise of constitutional and fiduciary responsibility and becomes a legal and ethical infraction,” the organisation stated.
According to SERAP, the processes leading to the passage of the Electoral Act amendment Bill and the signing into law of the tax reform measures were allegedly marked by alterations to bill provisions without debate or due process, as well as changes to the tax bills without the approval of the National Assembly. It further alleged that some amendments may have been removed or introduced to serve private or political interests rather than the public good.
The group stressed that members of the National Assembly and officers of the executive branch are public officers bound by the constitutional Code of Conduct, which prohibits placing personal interests above official duties and mandates integrity and transparency in public life.
SERAP cited constitutional provisions empowering the CCB to receive and investigate complaints of breaches of the Code of Conduct and, where appropriate, refer such matters to the Code of Conduct Tribunal.
It urged the Bureau to register the petition as a formal complaint and to promptly investigate the conduct of the lawmakers and executive officials involved, examine whether inducements or benefits were offered or received, and determine whether the alleged actions amounted to abuse of legislative power and conflict of interest.
SERAP also asked the Bureau to refer any substantiated violations to the Code of Conduct Tribunal and to take steps to uphold the principle that public office is a public trust.
The organisation warned that it would consider legal action to compel compliance if the Bureau failed to act within seven days.
The petition follows claims by lawmakers, including Sokoto lawmaker Abdussamad Dasuki, who raised concerns over alleged discrepancies between tax reform bills passed by the National Assembly and the versions gazetted by the Federal Government, describing the reported alterations as unlawful and questioning the legality of the law-making process.
