Abdussamad Dasuki, the Sokoto lawmaker who drew national attention in December 2025 over alleged discrepancies between tax laws passed by the National Assembly and the versions later gazetted for public use, has emerged as the Deputy Minority Leader of the House of Representatives.
Speaker of the House, RT. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, announced the new minority leadership during plenary on Thursday, completing the composition of the House’s principal officers.
Dasuki, who represents Kebbe/Tambuwal Federal Constituency of Sokoto State on the platform of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), was appointed Deputy Minority Leader alongside Rep. Frederick Agbedi of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who was named Minority Leader.
The Sokoto lawmaker had previously served in the PDP before defecting to the ADC.
Also announced were Rep. Manu Soro of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), representing Bauchi State, as Minority Whip, while Rep. George Ozodinobi retained his position as Deputy Minority Whip after briefly serving in an acting capacity as Minority Leader following the exit of Kingsley Chinda.
According to a letter from the opposition caucus read by the Speaker, Agbedi, regarded as one of the most experienced legislators in the House, emerged by consensus to lead the minority bloc.
Dasuki had become one of the leading opposition voices in the House after, on December 17, 2025, raising a Point of Privilege over what he described as serious inconsistencies between tax reform bills approved by lawmakers and the versions subsequently gazetted.
He told the House that a review of the gazetted tax laws against the Votes and Proceedings of the House, as well as the harmonised versions adopted by both chambers of the National Assembly, revealed discrepancies suggesting that the published laws did not accurately reflect what legislators had debated and passed.
“I was here, I gave my vote and it was counted and I am seeing something completely different,” Dasuki said during the plenary.
He argued that presenting Nigerians with laws different from those approved by the legislature amounted to a breach of legislative procedure and constitutional provisions, warning that such actions could erode public confidence in the integrity of the National Assembly.
The lawmaker had called on the House leadership to subject all relevant documents, including the harmonised versions of the bills, Votes and Proceedings of both chambers, and the gazetted copies in circulation, to scrutiny by the Committee of the Whole.
Responding at the time, Speaker Abbas acknowledged the concerns and assured lawmakers that the House would take the necessary steps to address the matter.
Announcing the new minority leadership on Thursday, the Speaker expressed confidence that the opposition principal officers would work constructively with the House leadership to advance legislative business and support the effective implementation of the chamber’s agenda.
“With this announcement, the body of principal officers of the House is now complete,” Abbas said.
