The Senate has thrown its weight behind the decision of President Bola Tinubu to begin the implementation of the new tax laws from January 1, 2026.
Justifying the President’s decision, the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, dismissed allegations of forgery of the tax laws, blaming the opposition for misinforming the public.
Bamidele, in a statement on Wednesday, December 31, 2025, urged Nigerians to get adequately informed about the ambitious goals and advantages of the tax laws.
“Rather than falling hook, line and sinker for the deliberate misinformation being peddled about the new reforms by the opposition, I urge every Nigerian to get adequately informed about their ambitious goals and advantages for our collective good, aiming to take more from the rich to cater for the poor in our midst,” he said.
According to him, the new tax law was not initiated to inflict economic hardship on ordinary people as being misconstrued in the public space.
“Rather, it aims to bring more resources to the footsteps of the government at various levels for the delivery of more strategic infrastructure that will translate to economic prosperity for generations to come.”
He described year 2025 as a truly defining year marked with far-reaching reforms that criss-crossed nearly all strategic sectors of the nation’s economy.
The Senate Leader defended the role of the National Assembly in the tax reforms, saying it collaborated with other arms of government to effect the reforms without any prejudice to the legislature’s constitutionally guaranteed independence.
Continuing, he said, “In the 2025 financial year, we have achieved quite a lot in enacting a new tax regime; ending the culture of multiple budgets; working with key stakeholders to review the 1999 Constitution and in recalibrating our electoral regime to be more credible and transparent.
“The enactment of the 2025 Tax Reforms Act, for instance, is perhaps the most consequential of all these reforms. Its core intention is to introduce a cohesive tax regime that will, from January 1, 2026, end the era of multiple taxation and ensure improved life for the citizenry, especially for those at the lowest rung of our national economy.
“The Act, duly enacted after multi-levelled consultation with stakeholders across business, political and social interests, does not represent the gloomy picture the opposition forces are painting.
“Rather, it is a progressively structured response that, we believe, will address fiscal and liquidity crises that have for long undermined our development aspirations. Like the case of petroleum subsidy removal, Nigerians will soon begin to reap the fruits of the tax reforms.
“I, therefore, appeal to all my compatriots to buy into the realistic and foreseeable projections of the new tax obligations, which will become effective tomorrow.
“Rather than take a mere cursory look at its details, Nigerians across all socio-economic strata have the duty to study the Tax Reforms Act and be adequately informed about what they intend to achieve, more importantly as Nigeria aspires to catch up with the rest of the world in modern tax administration.
“For us at the National Assembly, we again reaffirm our commitment to nation-building and unalloyed support for the people-centred initiatives driven by the “Renewed Hope Agenda” of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR.
“Away from the rubber stamp narrative, in 2026 and beyond, the Senate will not shirk its responsibilities of guiding and offering necessary advice to other arms of government in line with the principle of checks and balances, and in the overall interest of our nation and its people.”
He recalled it took the National Assembly several months of painstaking scrutiny and late night meetings before the eventual passage of the tax reform bills.
“The import of this is that our dual objectives of ensuring that the interest of ordinary Nigerians are adequately protected and that Nigeria is not lagging behind in modern tax administration were ultimately achieved at the end of the exercise,” he maintained.
Opposition party leaders, including two former presidential candidates in the 2023 elections, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and Mr Peter Obi, have called for the suspension of the tax laws.
Similarly, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and other civil society groups have joined the call for the suspension of the tax laws.
However, President Tinubu has insisted on the January 1 take off date for the new tax laws amid the protests.
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