Taiwo Oyedele, Minister of State for Finance, has admitted that Nigeria’s newly introduced tax reform laws contain errors, assuring that steps are already being taken to correct them.
Oyedele made this known during a fireside chat at the 2026 conference of the Nigerian Bar Association Section on Legal Practice, where he explained that the discrepancies arose from procedural lapses during the law-making process.
According to him, the errors were largely due to manual drafting processes and multiple review stages, which led to inconsistencies between versions of the law. He urged Nigerians to await the outcome of an ongoing legislative probe into the issue.
The minister noted that the government plans to address the problems through a proposed Finance Bill that will correct the identified flaws.
He also called for greater transparency in the legislative process, stressing the need for all versions of laws to be publicly accessible.
Oyedele emphasised that the implementation of the tax reforms would be guided by fairness, clarity, and transparency, adding that understanding the intent behind policies is crucial for proper interpretation.
He further highlighted that the reforms aim to fix long-standing inconsistencies in Nigeria’s tax system, particularly disparities between personal and corporate taxation, which he said have discouraged business formalisation.
On the issue of equity, Oyedele said the reforms are designed to protect low-income earners and small businesses, noting that many Nigerians earn below ₦70,000 monthly and should not be overburdened by taxation.
He added that the new framework removes minimum tax requirements for loss-making businesses, describing the previous system as effectively taxing capital instead of profit.
The development follows earlier concerns raised by lawmakers, including Abdussamad Dasuki, who alleged discrepancies between the versions of the tax laws passed by the National Assembly and those later circulated.
The controversy prompted the House of Representatives to set up a special committee to review and reconcile the differences.
