- Gains of Tinubu’s Administration, by Information Minister Idris
The Federal Government yesterday affirmed that it would proceed with the implementation of the new tax laws with effect from January 1 as planned.
Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said the government had followed due process of extensive consultations, legislative deliberations, approvals and final enactment by the President.
According to him, the government has only one version of the new tax laws, which was duly processed by the National Assembly and signed by the President.
“Government is going ahead with commencement of implementation, noting as changed,” Idris said last night.
Against the background of reports of alterations in the gazetted copy of the new Tax Administration Act, Idris, who spoke at a news conference in Abuja, said the executive arm would expect a report of a probe by the National Assembly, where the issue of alleged alteration was raised.
He said: “I think it is important for us to wait for the National Assembly to look at this again to tell us whether there were discrepancies or not.
“This is, at this point, an affair of the National Assembly to which I have no jurisdiction, and I have no authority to speak about.
“As far as the government of Nigeria is concerned, there’s only one version of that tax document.”
Idris spoke during a review of the activities of the Tinubu Administration in 2025, where he listed the gains and challenges.
Idris’ position was reechoed by Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, and immediate past Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr. Muhammad Nami.
Oyedele cautioned against drawing conclusions based on documents circulating in the public space, insisting that some of the materials being referenced were not authentic.
According to him, there was confusion over what constituted the final, legally binding version of the bill passed by the National Assembly.
He explained that the only authoritative version of the bill would be the harmonised copy certified by the Clerk of the National Assembly and transmitted to the President.
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 was sent…
“Even I cannot say that I have it. I only have what was presented to Mr President to sign.”
Oyedele also shed light on a controversial provision that had circulated widely, particularly Section 41(8), which suggested that a 20 per cent deposit would be required.
He said he contacted the House of Representatives Committee on the issue, only to be told that the committee had not met to take any decision.
“I know that particular provision is not in the final gazette, but it was in the draft gazette,” he said, adding that the situation appeared to have been complicated by premature actions taken by unnamed individuals.
“Some people decided that they should write the report of the committee before the committee had met, and it had circulated everywhere,” Oyedele said.
He stressed that the document circulating in the media did not originate from the committee set up by the House of Representatives and urged the public to allow lawmakers to carry out their investigation.
“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 to do their investigation,” Oyedele said on Channel Television’s Morning Brief.
Nami, in a statement, said the issue at hand does not call for protest or jettisoning of the new tax framework, but a careful investigation, restoration and punishment of anyone found to have compromised the process.
He expressed concern over attempts to discard what he described as carefully developed tax laws that resulted from years of research, investment and legislative work by the National Assembly, a process he said began in 2022.
According to him, abandoning those efforts would amount to wasting scarce national resources and weakening institutional credibility.
He maintained that the most sensible path forward was for Nigerians to stand with the National Assembly, which is working to ensure peace and prevent the waste of resources already invested in the tax reform project.
Nami expressed confidence that, with firm and coordinated action, the country could still implement the new tax provisions by January 2026.
According to him, the reforms were designed to block leakages in the tax system, boost revenue to fund economic growth and development programmes, support debt servicing and budget deficits at all levels of government, roll out social welfare initiatives, strengthen security and deliver world-class infrastructure capable of attracting foreign direct investment.
He said: “Indeed, numerous provisions encourage governments at all levels to prioritise taxing prosperity over poverty and fruits over seeds so that SMEs can grow and provide employment opportunities to our youth, ultimately becoming taxpayers in the future.”
Nami, however, alleged that the alterations to the Tax Administration Act were carried out at the point of gazetting by yet-to-be-identified individuals, without the knowledge or approval of either the Presidency or the National Assembly.
House of Representatives Speaker Abbas Tajudeen constituted an investigating committee following an allegation of alterations by a member of the House from Sokoto State, Abdulsamad Dasuki.
Rising under a matter of privilege, Dasuki, a member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), alleged that the tax laws passed by both the House and the Senate were different from the tax laws gazetted and currently in circulation.
Speaker Abbas then told members that the leadership has decided to investigate the matter with a view to ascertaining the truth behind the allegations.
The members of the committee to investigate the allegations are Aliyu Mukthar Betara (Chairman), Ahmed Idris Wase, James Abiodun Faleke, Fred Agbedi, Igarewey Iduma Enwo and Babajimi Benson.
The committee was mandated to investigate the alleged doctoring of the tax reform laws.
Abbas, who announced the composition of the committee, however, did not give them a specific time frame to conclude their work, but asked them to investigate the allegations and report back to the House.
President Tinubu signed four major tax reform bills into law, an action the Federal Government described as the most far-reaching overhaul of Nigeria’s tax system in decades.
The laws are scheduled to take effect from January 1, 2026, following their passage amid intense debates and stiff opposition from some lawmakers from the northern part of the country.
The laws comprise the Nigeria Tax Act, the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Act, all to operate under a unified authority known as the Nigeria Revenue Service.
According to the government, the reforms are aimed at simplifying tax compliance, expanding the tax base, removing multiple and overlapping taxes, and modernising revenue collection across federal, state and local governments.
The idea of tax reform was kicked against by many interests, including some governors.
At a point, the National Economic Council (NEC) requested the Bills’ withdrawal from the National Assembly, but the President declined, asking those with misgivings to express them during the public hearing.
After more consultations, the Bills were passed to the President’s delight.
