Oyedele Denies Admitting Errors in Tax Laws Despite Viral Video
Taiwo Oyedele, minister of state for finance, has denied acknowledging errors in Nigeria’s new tax laws, despite a viral video in which he discusses “problems we identified” during the legislative process.
On April 10, a statement from the fiscal reforms committee indicated that Oyedele had acknowledged lapses arising from manual processes and multiple review stages in the law-making process. The statement added that steps were being taken to address the issues through a proposed finance bill.
However, in a follow-up statement posted on the minister’s official X account on Sunday, the committee said reports claiming Oyedele had “finally admitted errors” were misleading and misrepresented his remarks.
“These publications misrepresent the minister’s statements, falsely alleging that he urged Nigerians to await the outcome of a ‘legislative probe’, a process that has long been concluded, with gazetted copies certified by the national assembly published since early January 2026,” the statement read.
The committee described the narrative as “unhelpful,” warning that it could distort public understanding and mislead citizens.
It explained that Oyedele’s comments were made during a fireside chat at the NBA-SLP conference in Lagos, where he highlighted early gains from the tax reforms, including increased business registrations and a broader tax base.
According to the minister, the number of individuals registered for tax purposes has grown from fewer than 10 million before the reforms to over 100 million. He also noted that more informal businesses are now seeking registration with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
While acknowledging that no law is perfect, Oyedele emphasised that ongoing stakeholder engagement would help identify gaps and improve the legislation through subsequent finance bills.
“Ongoing stakeholder engagement is essential to identify and address any errors or gaps for appropriate legislative updates as part of a continuous improvement process,” the statement added.
What Oyedele Said in the Video
In the circulating video, Oyedele described the law-making process as prone to inconsistencies due to “multiple stages of manual editing and updating.”
He said he reviewed several versions of the legislation and identified discrepancies, including a reduction in the small business threshold from N100 million to N50 million in an earlier gazetted draft.
“When the allegation of alteration came up, it did not surprise me. My concern had come earlier. Being closely involved in the law-making process, I was not impressed,” he said.
“This process cannot guarantee quality assurance. There are too many stages of manual editing and updating.
“You have committee meetings where contributions are made and notes taken. Those notes are then updated, often without full visibility of the process. After that, versions are harmonised between the house and senate, sent to the ministry of justice, and eventually to the president for assent before publication in the gazette.
“At each of these stages, multiple versions emerge. Reviewing them was a nightmare.”
Oyedele added that his team pushed back against several inconsistencies, resulting in corrections to most of the identified issues.
“At that point, about 90 percent of the problems we identified had been corrected, but not all. Waiting for a perfect version would have delayed the transition process,” he said.
He also expressed hope that the controversy would prompt reforms in the legislative drafting process.
“When concerns about alterations were raised, I thought it would draw attention to systemic issues and create an opportunity to fix them permanently. That, unfortunately, did not happen.”
The controversy follows a claim made on December 17, 2025, by Abdussamad Dasuki, a member of the house of representatives from Sokoto, who alleged that the gazetted tax laws differ from those passed by the national assembly.