Taiwo Oyedele, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Finance, has denied claims that he admitted errors in the country’s newly introduced tax laws, despite a viral video showing him discussing issues in the legislation.
Earlier reports suggested that Oyedele acknowledged mistakes in the laws, blaming them on manual processes and multiple stages involved in drafting and reviewing the legislation. It was also reported that corrective measures were being planned through a new finance bill.
However, in a statement released by the fiscal reforms committee via his official X (Twitter) account, Oyedele dismissed those reports as misleading. He said his comments were misinterpreted and taken out of context.
According to the statement, he never called for a legislative probe and emphasized that the tax laws had already been finalized and officially published since January 2026.
The committee explained that Oyedele’s remarks were made during a conference in Lagos, where he highlighted the early benefits of the tax reforms. These include a significant increase in tax registration—from fewer than 10 million Nigerians to over 100 million—and more informal businesses registering with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
While noting that no law is perfect, Oyedele maintained that ongoing consultations with stakeholders would help identify and fix any gaps through future amendments.
However, in the widely circulated video, Oyedele appeared to criticize the lawmaking process, describing it as prone to inconsistencies due to multiple stages of manual editing. He revealed that he reviewed several versions of the tax law and found discrepancies, including changes to the small business threshold.
He added that although many issues were corrected before the law was finalized, not all problems were resolved, highlighting weaknesses in the legislative process.
The controversy continues to raise questions about transparency and accuracy in Nigeria’s lawmaking system.
