Oyedele denies suspension of tax laws guidelines

The Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, has denied a report claiming that the Federal Government has paused the issuance of implementation guidelines for the new tax laws due to uncertainty.

A media report (not The PUNCH) had stated that the Nigerian government halted the issuance of guidelines for the implementation of the new tax laws, quoting Oyedele as having instructed the Nigeria Revenue Service and the Joint Revenue Board to wait because the final version of the laws was unclear.

According to the report, Oyedele had made the comments in Lagos on Tuesday while responding to questions after delivering a keynote address at the 2026 Economic Outlook event organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria themed “ICAN@60: Accountability as the Bedrock for National Development.”

During the event, Oyedele acknowledged concerns surrounding the authenticity of the versions of the tax laws currently in circulation.

He explained that the uncertainty prompted him to instruct his team to obtain a printed copy of the laws from the Government Printer, as stipulated by the Acts Authentication Act.

“The Acts Authentication Act says whatever the Government Printer publishes is the evidence of the law that was passed,” Oyedele said.

He noted that while the Government Printer initially published a version considered official by the executive, lawmakers later disputed it, insisting that it did not reflect what was passed by the National Assembly.

According to him, the legislature subsequently undertook its own review process and produced separate gazetted copies, which were shared in soft copy.

However, Oyedele said his team was unable to obtain a printed copy from the Government Printer, as officials reportedly informed them that all printed copies had been taken by the National Assembly and should not be made available to the public until lawmakers conclude their review.

Reacting in a post on his verified X (formerly Twitter) handle on Thursday, Oyedele shared a screenshot of a the report headline and watermarked it “Fake News.”