The Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, has dismissed reports suggesting that the Federal Government has suspended the issuance of implementation guidelines for the newly enacted tax laws due to uncertainty.
A media report had claimed that the government paused the release of guidelines, quoting Oyedele as allegedly directing the Nigeria Revenue Service and the Joint Revenue Board to hold off because the final version of the laws was unclear.
The report stated that Oyedele made the remarks 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 over the authenticity of different versions of the tax laws currently in circulation. He explained that the situation prompted him to ask his team to obtain a printed copy of the laws from the Government Printer, in line with the Acts Authentication Act.
“The Acts Authentication Act says whatever the Government Printer publishes is the evidence of the law that was passed,” he said.
Oyedele noted that although the Government Printer initially released a version regarded by the executive as official, lawmakers later disputed it, arguing that it did not reflect what was passed by the National Assembly. He added that the legislature subsequently conducted its own review and produced separate gazetted copies, which were circulated in soft copy.
According to him, efforts by his team to obtain a printed copy from the Government Printer were unsuccessful, as officials reportedly said all printed copies had been taken by the National Assembly and would not be released to the public until lawmakers concluded their review.
Reacting to the report on Thursday via his verified X (formerly Twitter) handle, Oyedele shared a screenshot of the headline and clearly labelled it “Fake News.”
Elijah Adeyemi
