By Peter Omopo
The Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, has denied claims that the Federal Government has suspended the issuance of implementation guidelines for the newly enacted tax laws due to uncertainty over their final versions.
A media report had alleged that the government paused the release of the guidelines, quoting Oyedele as directing the Nigeria Revenue Service and the Joint Revenue Board to hold on, as the authentic version of the laws was unclear. The report claimed that Oyedele made the remarks in Lagos on Tuesday after delivering a keynote address at the 2026 Economic Outlook event organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), themed “ICAN@60: Accountability as the Bedrock for National Development.”
Speaking at the event, Oyedele acknowledged concerns regarding the authenticity of different versions of the tax laws currently in circulation. He explained that the situation prompted him to direct his team to seek a printed copy of the laws from the Government Printer in line with the Acts Authentication Act.
“The Acts Authentication Act says whatever the Government Printer publishes is the evidence of the law that was passed,” he said.
Oyedele noted that while the Government Printer initially released a version regarded by the executive as official, members of the National Assembly later disputed it, arguing that it did not accurately reflect the version passed by the legislature. According to him, the lawmakers subsequently conducted their own review and produced separate gazetted copies, which were circulated electronically.
He further disclosed that efforts by his team to obtain a printed copy from the Government Printer were unsuccessful, as officials reportedly said all printed copies had been taken by the National Assembly and would not be made available to the public until the lawmakers concluded their review.
However, Oyedele dismissed reports suggesting that the issuance of implementation guidelines had been suspended. In a post on his verified X (formerly Twitter) handle on Thursday, he shared a screenshot of the report’s headline and described it as “Fake News,” insisting that the claims attributed to him were inaccurate.
