The Federal Government has suspended the issuance of implementation guidelines for the newly enacted tax laws, citing uncertainty over which version represents the final and authentic text, Chairman of the Presidential Tax Reform Committee, Taiwo Oyedele, has disclosed.
Oyedele said the decision was taken after conflicting versions of the tax laws emerged, raising concerns about their legal authenticity.
He explained that he had directed the Nigeria Revenue Service and the Joint Revenue Board to hold off on issuing guidelines until clarity is restored.
He spoke in Lagos while responding to questions after delivering a keynote address at the 2026 Economic Outlook organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, themed “ICAN@60: Accountability as the Bedrock for National Development.”
According to Oyedele, uncertainty deepened when attempts to obtain printed copies of the laws from the government printer proved unsuccessful.
“I told my staff to go and buy the printed version from the government printer. They were told it was not available,” he said, adding that he later learned that all printed copies had been taken by the National Assembly pending the completion of lawmakers’ review.
He noted that while legislative review is part of the lawmaking process, withholding access to the laws has reintroduced uncertainty into the tax reform agenda.
Oyedele cited the Acts Authentication Act, which recognises documents published by the government printer as evidence of valid law, but said lawmakers disputed the version earlier gazetted, insisting it did not reflect what they passed.
Efforts to get reactions from the spokespersons of the Senate and the House of Representatives were unsuccessful as calls and messages were not returned as of last night.
The tax reform law, the National Revenue Service Act, the Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria Act, the Nigeria Tax Administration Act and the Nigeria Tax Act, took effect on January 1 but attracted criticism following allegations that the gazetted versions differed from those passed by the National Assembly.
In December, a member of the House of Representatives, Abdussamad Dasuki, raised a matter of privilege, alleging discrepancies between the laws debated and approved by lawmakers and those released to the public.
The House subsequently set up a committee to investigate the claims.
On January 3, the National Assembly released Certified True Copies of the approved versions, disowning the earlier controversial gazetted documents.
A comparison showed that the disputed discrepancies had been addressed.
Reacting to allegations of alterations, Oyedele downplayed the impact of the changes, insisting they do not affect the substance of the tax reforms.
“There are few items, but nothing that affects tax rates, tax burden or filing deadlines,” he said, adding that the core provisions of the laws remain intact.
Oyedele also expressed concern over what he described as organised resistance and misinformation targeted at the tax reforms.
He alleged that some individuals were paid to stage protests against the laws.
According to him, misinformation had serious economic consequences, citing an instance in November 2025 when false narratives triggered panic selling that wiped about N4.6 trillion off the stock market in a single day.
“The new tax laws exempt people who sell up to N150 million a year. Why should someone selling N1 million panic? That is the danger of misinformation,” he said, noting that pension funds and other investments were affected.
Speaking on the conference theme, Oyedele described accountability as the link between reform ideas and tangible results, arguing that Nigeria’s major challenge lies in execution rather than policy formulation.
“Reforms can be brilliant, but execution fails largely because of weak accountability,” he said, urging Nigerians to seek knowledge and demand transparency to build trust around reforms.
At a panel session, the Director-General of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dr Chinyere Almona, called for stronger inter-agency collaboration in implementing the tax laws, warning that policy conflicts often arise at the execution stage.
She also advocated the use of technology and centralised monitoring systems.
Similarly, the Director-General of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, urged inclusive implementation that supports growth without undermining competitiveness.
He lamented the sector’s contribution of less than 10 per cent to GDP and disclosed that unsold inventory across the manufacturing sector has risen to about N2 trillion.
Earlier, the chairman of the session, Mohammed Hayatudeen, said Nigeria was entering 2026 at a delicate moment, noting that although inflation had moderated, the exchange rate stabilised and external revenues improved, poverty levels remain high.
In his welcome address, ICAN President, Mallam Haruna Nma Yahaya, stressed that accountability remains central to Nigeria’s economic stability and long-term development.
He said the country recorded modest economic improvements in 2025 but warned that progress could be reversed without discipline, transparency and strong institutions.
Yahaya urged stakeholders to move beyond diagnosing problems to proposing practical solutions that strengthen governance and institutional capacity.
