Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Taiwo Oyedele, has outlined the consequences Nigerians may face if the new tax laws are not implemented by January 1, 2026.

 

 

 

Oyedele spoke on Monday, December 22, during an appearance on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, against the backdrop of calls by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, and several civil society groups for a suspension of the implementation of the laws.

 

 

 

According to Oyedele, failing to roll out the reforms would leave the majority of Nigerians worse off. “The implication of not implementing the new tax laws by January 1, 2026, is that the bottom 98 per cent of workers remain overtaxed,” he said.

 

 

 

He added that businesses would continue to suffer from multiple taxation and miss out on exemptions, while minimum taxes would still apply to small and unprofitable enterprises. Oyedele also warned that hidden VAT would keep driving up the cost of essentials such as food, healthcare, and education.

 

 

 

Rather than calling for outright suspension, Oyedele argued that specific areas of concern should be identified and corrected.

 

 

 

“So, we need to be clear about what we are asking for,” he said. “Even if it is established that there have been substantial alterations to what the National Assembly passed, my view will be to identify those provisions… and go ahead to implement the law as passed by the NASS, while you address the issues as to how they got in there in the first place.”

 

 

 

He noted that even the version passed by the National Assembly contained sections that require amendment.

 

 

 

“I will say to you that regarding the one passed by NASS, even my committee and I have noted areas where we need to go back through Mr President to request amendments to those laws, because there were issues with referencing and definition,” he said.

 

 

 

Oyedele also weighed in on the controversy surrounding alleged discrepancies between the tax laws passed by lawmakers and the versions later gazetted. A member of the House of Representatives, Abdulsamad Dasuki, had raised a point of privilege, claiming the gazetted laws did not reflect what legislators approved.

 

 

 

Addressing the concern, Oyedele said it was difficult to determine discrepancies without access to the officially harmonised bills certified by the clerk of the National Assembly.

 

 

 

“Before you can say there is a difference between what was gazetted and what was passed, we have what has not been gazetted. We don’t have what was passed,” he said.

 

 

 

He cited a controversial provision in Section 41(8) requiring a 20 per cent deposit, noting that while it appeared in a draft gazette, it was not included in the final version. According to him, some draft materials circulated publicly before the relevant committee had even met.

 

 

 

“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 has since signed the four tax reform bills into law, describing them as the most significant overhaul of Nigeria’s tax system in decades.

 

 

 

The reforms, scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2026, include the Nigeria Tax Act, the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Act, all operating under a single authority, the Nigeria Revenue Service.