PRESIDENT TINUBU SIGNS 4 TAX REFORM BILLS INTO LAW 26-06-25
By Sadiq Aminu President Bola Tinubu has signed 4 Tax Reform Bills into law, emphasising that bold decisions and courageous leadership are essential to nation-building.
He stated this in Abuja while assenting to the bills, recently passed by the National Assembly.
Africa247 Correspondent reports “Leadership is indispensable, “Decisions must be made, risks taken, and trust upheld. What we did here today is a clear step forward for our country’s evolution”, he stressed.
The President’s emphasis is a direct reference to the criticisms that greeted their proposals.
As proposed, they seek to consolidate the country’s fragmented tax laws, simplify tax administration, and enhance quality of life.
However, antagonists argue that the reforms will centralise fiscal authority, diminish State revenues, and disproportionately benefit economically robust States like Lagos and Rivers, thereby exacerbating existing economic challenges in particularly, northern Nigeria, potentially reducing their allocations by 150 to 200 billion Naira annually.
There was also the fear that the bills would scrap TETFUND, NASENI, and NITDA, although the Presidency had dismissed the claims, describing them as baseless.
High level consultations followed up, leading to the passing and eventual signing of the bills after some alterations agreed upon were made.
President commended the National Assembly for showing resilience in the face of difficult debates and public scrutiny, stressing that tax reform is never easy, but necessary.
“In process of nation building, even the block work takes a bender and concrete cements to build the body. What you have provided is leadership and courage in the face of mounting dispute”, the President asserted.
Earlier, President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, said they were convinced that the introduction of the bills was apt.
“And at the end of almost ten months of rigmarole, debates, consultations, public hearings, we came to the conclusion that yes indeed, what you did and what you are doing now will be remembered for generations to come. No Parliament makes a law for one particular regime. Laws are made to last”, he maintained.
The Special Adviser to the President on Tax Reforms, Dr. Zacch Adedeji, had said the impact of the bills would boost revenue, and restore fiscal balance.