The Presidency has dismissed claims of discrepancies in Nigeria’s newly signed tax reform laws, describing reports circulating in the media as false and misleading.
The clarification comes amid growing controversy over the reforms, which are scheduled to take effect from January 1, 2026. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate Peter Obi, and several civil society organisations have called for the suspension of the laws’ implementation.
The debate intensified after a member of the House of Representatives, Abdulsamad Dasuki, raised concerns over what he described as inconsistencies between the tax bills passed by the National Assembly and the versions later gazetted and released to the public. Dasuki argued that his legislative rights had been violated, insisting that the gazetted laws did not accurately reflect what lawmakers debated and approved on the floor of the House.
However, speaking on Channels Television’s Morning Brief, the Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Taiwo Oyedele, rejected the allegations, saying the documents being cited were not authentic.
“Before you can say there is a difference between what was gazette and what was passed, we have what has not been gazette. We don’t have what was passed,” he said.
“The official harmonised bills certified by the clerk, which the National Assembly sent to the President, we don’t have a copy to compare. Only the lawmakers can say authoritatively what we sent.
“It could be the House of Representatives or Senate version. It could be the harmonised version certified by the clerk. Even me, I cannot say that I have it. I only have what was presented to Mr President to sign.”
Oyedele also addressed concerns surrounding Section 41 (8), which reportedly required taxpayers to pay a 20 per cent deposit. He said he had contacted the relevant House of Representatives committee for clarification.
“You have to pay a deposit of 20 per cent,” he quoted from the section under scrutiny.
According to him, the committee responded that it had not yet met to deliberate on the matter.
“I know that particular provision is not in the final gazette, but it was in the draft gazette. Some people decided that they should write the report of the committee before the committee had met, and it had circulated everywhere.
“What is out there in the media did not come from the committee set up by the House of Representatives. I think we should allow them do the investigation,” Oyedele added.
President Bola Tinubu recently signed four tax reform bills into law, an action the Federal Government has described as the most comprehensive overhaul of Nigeria’s tax system in decades. The legislation had faced strong resistance from some federal lawmakers, particularly from the northern part of the country, before eventually being passed.
The new legal framework comprises the Nigeria Tax Act, the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Act. Under the reforms, all tax administration functions will operate under a single authority, the Nigeria Revenue Service.
The Federal Government says the reforms are aimed at simplifying tax compliance, broadening the tax base, removing multiple and overlapping taxes, and modernising revenue collection across federal, state, and local governments.
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