Nigeria’s sweeping tax reform laws could face a major delay, with implementation scheduled for January 2026 now hanging in the balance. The chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Taiwo Oyedele, says the National Assembly has full constitutional authority to suspend the rollout if ongoing investigations confirm alleged alterations to the laws.
Oyedele spoke during a Channels Television interview on Monday while reacting to claims that parts of the tax reform laws were changed after being passed by lawmakers and before being gazetted. He said calls to pause the reforms had already been building, even before the allegations surfaced.
According to him, the decision to delay or suspend implementation lies entirely with the National Assembly, not the tax reform committee. He said lawmakers’ final position would likely depend on what their investigation uncovers.
Oyedele warned that halting the reforms would come at a significant cost. He said Nigeria’s current tax framework disproportionately burdens low-income earners and small businesses, leaving about 98 per cent of workers overtaxed. He added that multiple taxes on small businesses and minimum taxes on low-income or non-profitable entities would remain if the reforms are shelved.
He also noted that the existing value-added tax system continues to raise the cost of essentials such as food, healthcare, and education, while inefficient tax incentives that distort the economy remain untouched. Oyedele cautioned that demands for suspension must be weighed against the social and economic consequences of maintaining the status quo.
On the allegations of alteration, Oyedele said any provisions proven to have been changed after passage should be isolated and treated as invalid. He argued that the appropriate response would be to implement the law exactly as passed by the National Assembly, while separately addressing how the disputed sections found their way into the gazetted version.
He accused certain interests of fuelling opposition to the reforms by spreading fear and misinformation, claiming that unsuspecting Nigerians were being mobilised against policies designed to benefit the broader population.
Oyedele pointed to weaknesses in Nigeria’s legislative process as a possible cause of the discrepancies. He said heavy reliance on manual procedures across multiple stages, including legislative debates, harmonisation between chambers, legal review, presidential assent, and gazetting, creates room for errors or unintended changes.
He said the controversy should serve as a wake-up call to strengthen quality control and safeguards in the lawmaking process, not just for tax legislation but across government.
The issue came to the fore last week when a lawmaker, Abdulsammad Dasuki, alleged that the gazetted tax laws differed materially from the versions passed by both chambers of the National Assembly. The House of Representatives has since promised to investigate, intensifying calls to suspend the reforms ahead of the January 2026 deadline.
