•President dismisses public concerns, vows to proceed with fiscal reforms
President Bola Tinubu has doubled down on rolling out Nigeria’s new tax code, telling critics the reforms will take full effect on 1 January 2026 as planned. A presidency statement released on 30 December 2025 says the remaining pieces of the law—parts of which have been running since June—will not be delayed.
Tinubu called the shake-up a “once-in-a-generation shot” at a fairer, sharper system. He insists the goal is not to hike rates but to streamline Nigeria’s web of taxes, shield low-income earners, and make the state’s side of the social contract credible.
“Nobody has shown a solid reason to hit pause,” the President said. “Trust grows from steady, right calls—not from U-turns every time someone shouts.”
The vow lands amid fresh push-back from unions, opposition lawmakers and business groups. They warn that firms still juggling rising costs could pass extra compliance burden on to shoppers already battling double-digit inflation. Some want a phased roll-out or a second look at the fine print.
Tinubu answered that the reform has left the drawing board and entered “delivery mode.” He promised to keep working with the National Assembly to iron out real glitches, but said the statute itself “remains intact.”
The presidency repeated its pledge to act “in the overriding public interest” and build a tax regime “rooted in shared prosperity.”
All eyes now swing to the Federal Inland Revenue Service and sister agencies. How smoothly they enforce the rules from New Year’s Day could stamp the first big verdict on Tinubu’s economic scorecard.
