Nigeria’s Tax Reform Laws Contain Errors, Tinubu Minister Oyedele Confirms

Nigeria’s Tax Reform Laws Contain Errors, Tinubu Minister Oyedele Confirms

The Minister of State for Finance, Taiwo Oyedele, has admitted that Nigeria’s recently introduced tax reform laws contain errors, confirming that the federal government is already working on corrections through a new legislative review process.

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.”

He explained that the inconsistencies in the new tax framework were introduced during the drafting and legislative stages, describing them as the result of manual processes, multiple revisions, and technical lapses.

According to him, the government is now working with the National Assembly to review the affected sections and ensure a cleaner, more coherent legal framework going forward.

The Fiscal Reforms Committee, in a statement shared on social media, also confirmed that the minister acknowledged that errors occurred due to multiple layers of review and version control challenges during the lawmaking process.

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Oyedele, however, assured Nigerians that the errors do not invalidate the broader purpose of the reforms, stressing that a proposed Finance Bill will be introduced to correct identified issues and strengthen implementation.

He emphasised the need for a more transparent legislative process, noting that all versions of tax laws should be publicly accessible to prevent confusion and ensure accountability.

“What we need is a more transparent and reliable legislative process where every version of a law is publicly available,” he said.

The minister further clarified that the implementation of the new tax reforms under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration will not be arbitrary, insisting that the framework is built on principles of fairness, transparency, and economic efficiency.

He explained that one of the core goals of the reforms is to fix long-standing distortions in Nigeria’s tax system, particularly the imbalance between personal and corporate taxation, which he said has discouraged business formalisation.

Oyedele also noted that inconsistent tax policies in the past had weakened investor confidence, adding that stability and predictability are critical for economic growth.

“If policies can change overnight, it sends the wrong signal to investors. Consistency is critical,” he said.

Addressing concerns about fairness, he stressed that the new framework is designed to protect low-income earners and small businesses from excessive taxation.

He revealed that nearly half of working Nigerians earn less than ₦70,000 monthly, adding that taxing such groups heavily would be economically unjust and counterproductive.

Oyedele also explained that the reforms remove minimum tax obligations for loss-making companies, arguing that such provisions previously amounted to taxing capital rather than profit.

The minister further called for improved efficiency in tax collection and revenue utilisation, noting that Nigeria still lags behind peer economies in terms of tax-to-GDP performance.

Economic analysts say the admission highlights both the complexity and urgency of Nigeria’s ongoing fiscal and tax reform agenda, which aims to broaden the tax base, reduce evasion, and improve revenue generation without stifling businesses.

The development comes as stakeholders continue to scrutinise the implementation of the new tax laws, with expectations that the forthcoming Finance Bill will provide clearer legal backing and resolve outstanding inconsistencies.

Nigeria’s Tax Reform Laws Contain Errors, Tinubu Minister Oyedele Confirms