The Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Taiwo Oyedele, has addressed growing controversy surrounding Nigeria’s newly enacted tax reform laws, following allegations that the versions signed into law were altered after being passed by the National Assembly. The claims have sparked public debate, political reactions, and calls for an independent investigation into the legislative process that produced the sweeping reforms, which are scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2026.
The controversy was triggered last week when a member of the House of Representatives, Abdulsamad Dasuki, raised concerns on the floor of the House, alleging that there were discrepancies between the tax reform bills debated and approved by lawmakers and the versions later gazetted and made available to the public. Dasuki argued that the differences amounted to a violation of lawmakers’ legislative authority, insisting that the gazetted laws did not accurately reflect what was passed by the National Assembly.
Following Dasuki’s claims, several civil society organisations and political figures demanded greater transparency in the handling of the tax laws. Among those calling for an independent probe were former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, both of whom urged the Federal Government to suspend the implementation of the laws until the alleged discrepancies were fully investigated and resolved.
The allegations have drawn national attention because the tax reforms, recently signed into law by President Bola Tinubu, represent what the Federal Government has described as the most significant overhaul of Nigeria’s tax system in decades. The reforms consolidate multiple tax-related statutes into a new framework designed to simplify compliance, expand the tax base, eliminate overlapping taxes, and modernise revenue collection across federal, state, and local governments.
Reacting to the controversy, Oyedele dismissed claims that the tax laws were secretly altered after their passage by the National Assembly. Speaking during an appearance on Channels Television’s Morning Brief on Monday, he described reports circulating in the media as misleading and lacking factual basis, arguing that there was no verified document to support the allegation that changes had been made post-passage.
“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,” Oyedele said. He questioned the assumption underlying the controversy, noting that the officially harmonised versions of the bills certified by the clerk of the National Assembly had not been made publicly available for comparison.
According to Oyedele, only the National Assembly itself can authoritatively confirm what version of the bills was transmitted to the President for assent. “It should be the House of Representatives or Senate version. It should 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,” he said, emphasising that speculation without access to the certified documents was premature.
Oyedele also addressed specific concerns raised about Section 41(8) of the tax laws, which some reports claimed required taxpayers to pay a 20 per cent deposit. He explained that while such a provision appeared in a draft version, it did not make it into the final gazetted law. “I know that particular provision is not in the final gazette, but it was in the draft gazette,” he said.
He further alleged that confusion arose because draft documents were circulated before the relevant legislative committee had concluded its work. “Some people decided that they should write the report of the committee before the committee had met, and it had circulated everywhere,” Oyedele stated. He added that he had personally contacted the House of Representatives committee involved and was informed that it had not met to take a final decision on the matter at the time the reports emerged.
“What is out there in the media did not come from the committee set up by the House of Representatives,” Oyedele said, calling for restraint and due process. “I think we should allow them do the investigation,” he added, stressing that lawmakers should lead any inquiry into the alleged discrepancies, given their constitutional role in the legislative process.
Beyond defending the integrity of the legislative process, Oyedele warned that delaying the implementation of the tax reforms beyond January 1, 2026, could have far-reaching consequences for workers and businesses across the country. He argued that the existing tax system places a disproportionate burden on low- and middle-income earners and creates inefficiencies that the new laws are designed to address.
“The implication of not implementing the new tax laws by January 1, 2026, is that the bottom 98 per cent of workers remain overtaxed,” Oyedele said. He added that business owners would also continue to suffer under the current regime, missing out on exemptions and reliefs embedded in the new laws while facing multiple and overlapping taxes.
Oyedele suggested that even if it were eventually established that certain provisions were improperly included in the gazetted laws, such sections could be isolated without halting the entire reform process. “Even if it is established that there have been substantial alterations to what the National Assembly passed, my view is to identify those provisions—they are not part of the law—then implement the law as passed by the NASS while addressing the issues as to how they got there in the first place,” he said.
He also acknowledged that some aspects of the laws, including issues related to referencing and definitions, may still require amendments. “Even my committee and I have noted areas where we need to go back through Mr President to request amendments to those laws,” Oyedele said, suggesting that post-enactment legislative refinements are not unusual for complex reforms of this scale.
President Tinubu recently signed four 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. Under the new framework, these laws will operate under a single authority, the Nigeria Revenue Service, in a move aimed at improving coordination and efficiency in tax administration nationwide.
The reforms faced resistance during their passage, particularly from some federal lawmakers from the northern part of the country, who raised concerns about their potential impact on constituents and regional economies. Despite the opposition, the government maintains that the laws are essential to building a fairer, more efficient tax system capable of supporting Nigeria’s long-term economic development, even as debate over their final form continues.