Minister of State for Finance Taiwo Oyedele has publicly acknowledged that Nigeria’s recently enacted tax reform laws contain errors, months after the legislation took effect and following earlier denials that any fundamental problems existed.
Oyedele made the disclosure during a fireside chat at the 2026 annual conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Section on Legal Practice, themed “From Policy to Practice: Making Sense of Nigeria’s New Tax Reforms.” According to a statement from the Presidential Fiscal and Tax Reforms Committee, and as reported by Daily Trust, he admitted that inconsistencies emerged during the law making process due to procedural lapses.
In a social media post on Friday 10th April, the Fiscal Reforms Committee said the minister acknowledged “that errors occurred due to manual processes and multiple stages of review” in the drafting and legislative process.
Oyedele said steps are already underway to correct the identified issues through a proposed Finance Bill. “What we need is a more transparent and reliable legislative process where every version of a law is publicly available,” he said.
The admission comes against the backdrop of an ongoing legislative probe. On December 17, 2025, Abdussamad Dasuki, a member of the House of Representatives from Sokoto State, claimed that the gazetted tax laws available to Nigerians are different from what the National Assembly actually passed. In response, the House constituted a seven-member panel to investigate the alleged discrepancies. Oyedele had previously asked Nigerians to await the outcome of that legislative inquiry.
The new tax laws took effect on January 1, 2026, after President Tinubu signed the tax bills on June 26, 2025.
Despite the admission, Oyedele sought to reassure the business community and taxpayers. He assured that enforcement of the new tax laws would not be arbitrary, noting that the reforms are anchored on clear policy intent, transparency, and fairness. He also stressed the importance of understanding the rationale behind tax laws rather than focusing solely on their provisions.
On equity in taxation, Oyedele said the new framework protects low-income earners and small businesses, stressing that those earning around ₦1 million annually and millions of small enterprises should not be overburdened. “Nearly half of working Nigerians earn less than ₦70,000 monthly. Taxing them aggressively would be unjust,” he said.
He also called for greater efficiency in revenue utilisation, noting that Nigeria still lags behind countries like South Africa in tax collection performance.
On investor confidence, Oyedele warned against policy inconsistencies that could discourage investment. “If policies can change overnight, it sends the wrong signal to investors. Consistency is critical,” he said.
The government had earlier announced a strategic pause in issuing implementation guidelines. The Presidential Committee had stated that it was critical to address discrepancies identified between the harmonised bills signed by the President and the versions in circulation, describing the delay as “a technical pause, not a policy reversal.”
