By Peter Omopo
The Federal Government has reiterated that the newly enacted tax laws will take effect from January 1, dismissing reports of any alteration to the version signed into law by President Bola Tinubu.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, made the clarification on Tuesday in Abuja amid public controversy over claims that the gazetted copy of the Tax Administration Act differed from the version approved by the National Assembly.
Idris said the tax laws followed due legislative process, including consultations, debates at the National Assembly and presidential assent, stressing that the administration recognises only one authentic version of the law.
“As far as the government of Nigeria is concerned, there is only one version of that tax document,” the minister said, adding that implementation would proceed as scheduled from January 1.
He explained that concerns about possible discrepancies in the gazetted document had been raised at the National Assembly, noting that the executive would await the outcome of the legislature’s review.
“I think it is important for us to wait for the National Assembly to look at this again to tell us whether there were discrepancies or not. This is, at this point, an affair of the National Assembly to which I have no jurisdiction,” Idris stated.
The minister spoke while reviewing the performance of the Tinubu administration in 2025, highlighting key achievements and challenges recorded during the year.
Supporting the government’s position, the Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Taiwo Oyedele, and the immediate past Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Muhammad Nami, urged Nigerians to disregard unofficial copies of the law circulating in the public space.
Oyedele cautioned against drawing conclusions from unverified documents, explaining that only the harmonised version certified by the Clerk of the National Assembly and transmitted to the President is legally binding.
“The official harmonised bills certified by the Clerk, which the National Assembly sent to the President, are the only valid reference. Only the lawmakers can say authoritatively what was sent,” he said.
Addressing public concerns over a controversial clause, particularly Section 41(8), which was widely interpreted as introducing a mandatory 20 per cent deposit, Oyedele said the provision had been misunderstood.
“I know that particular provision is not in the final gazette, but it was in the draft gazette,” he explained, attributing the confusion to premature circulation of an unofficial report.
Oyedele added that the document in circulation did not emanate from the House of Representatives committee investigating the matter and urged the public to allow lawmakers to conclude their inquiry.
“What is out there in the media did not come from the committee set up by the House of Representatives. We should allow them to do their investigation,” he said during an interview on Channel Television’s Morning Brief.
