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Nigeria’s Minister of State for Finance, Taiwo Oyedele, has denied claims that he admitted errors in the country’s new tax laws, despite a viral video showing him highlighting some problems identified during the legislative process.
A statement from the fiscal reforms committee X account on April 10, which revealed that Oyedele acknowledged issues arising from manual processes and multiple review stages in the development of the laws. It noted that steps were already ongoing to address the concerns through a proposed finance bill.
However, the controversy unfolded in a follow-up clarification post on Oyedele’s official X account on Sunday, April 12. The committee rejected reports suggesting that the Minister had “finally admitted errors,” describing such claims as misleading and a misrepresentation of 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 and the gazetted copies certified by the National Assembly published since early January 2026,” the statement read.
”𝐅𝐀𝐊𝐄 𝐍𝐄𝐖𝐒 𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐑𝐓: “𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐖𝐎 𝐎𝐘𝐄𝐃𝐄𝐋𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘 𝐀𝐃𝐌𝐈𝐓𝐒 𝐄𝐑𝐑𝐎𝐑𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐓𝐀𝐗 𝐋𝐀𝐖𝐒”
Our attention has been drawn to misleading media reports claiming that the Honourable Minister of State for Finance, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele has…
— Taiwo Oyedele (@taiwoyedele) April 12, 2026
Additionally, the committee warned that the twisted narrative is unhelpful as it may distort the public understanding of the reforms. “This twisted narrative is unhelpful as it risks distorting public understanding and misleading the very people the reforms were designed to benefit,” it added.
Credit: AB Magazine.
According to the committee, Oyedele’s comments were made during the fireside chat at the NBA-SLP conference in Lagos state, where he focused on the early gains of the tax reforms. These include a quick increase in business registrations and a wider expansion of the tax net.
The Minister reportedly highlighted that the number of individuals registered for tax purposes has risen significantly, from fewer than 10 million before the reforms to over 100 million.
Also, he noted that more informal businesses are now seeking registration with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), which reflects growing compliance.
While he admitted that no law is perfect, Oyedele stressed the importance of continuous improvement. “Ongoing stakeholder engagement is essential to identify and address any errors or gaps for appropriate legislative updates through Finance Bills as part of a continuous improvement process,” the statement noted.
In the widely shared video, Oyedele explained that the law-making process could lead to inconsistencies due to “multiple stages of manual editing and updating,” a remark that has fuelled debate over the interpretation of his position.
