The Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Tax Policy and Fiscal Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, has refuted claims that recently enacted tax reform laws, set to take effect on January 1, 2026, were secretly altered after passage by the National Assembly. The controversy arose following demands from civil society groups and lawmakers for an independent probe into alleged discrepancies in the laws.
Concerns began last week when House of Representatives member Abdulsamad Dasuki alleged that the gazetted versions of the tax laws differed from those approved on the House floor, suggesting a breach of legislative rights. Critics, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, called for the suspension of the laws’ implementation.
Speaking on Channels Television, Oyedele described the claims as false, noting that the official harmonised bills certified by the National Assembly and sent to the President were not publicly available for comparison. He clarified that he only had access to what was presented to the President for signing.
Oyedele specifically addressed concerns over Section 41(8), which reportedly required a 20% deposit. He explained that the provision appeared in a draft gazette but was not included in the final version, and any circulating reports were premature and not issued by the House committee.
The Federal Government recently signed four major tax reform bills into law — the Nigeria Tax Act, the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Act — aimed at unifying tax administration, expanding the tax base, simplifying compliance, and modernising revenue collection across federal, state, and local governments.
