President Bola Tinubu has declared that Nigeria’s old tax framework, rooted in colonial-era legislation, contributed significantly to poverty, inefficiency, and economic distortions, arguing that the country’s newly implemented tax reforms are designed to reverse that legacy and create broader opportunities for citizens and businesses.
The President made this known on Tuesday in Abuja during the commissioning of the newly completed 16-storey headquarters of the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), where he described the former tax system as fragmented, inconsistent, and harmful to national growth.
According to Tinubu, the new tax architecture, which became fully operational in January, is intended to simplify revenue administration, encourage investment, improve fairness, and make Nigeria’s economy more globally competitive.
Tinubu: Old tax system weakened prosperity
Speaking at the event attended by senior government officials, lawmakers, governors, ministers, and private sector leaders, Tinubu said Nigeria could not build lasting prosperity on an outdated and disjointed tax regime.
He stated that the old tax laws had become obstacles to national development because they created multiple overlapping obligations, weakened transparency, and discouraged enterprise.
The President said:
“Colonial-era tax laws impoverished Nigerians through fragmentation, multiplicity, and inconsistencies.”
He added that the reforms are aimed at dismantling those structural barriers and replacing them with a coherent system capable of supporting inclusive growth.
Tinubu linked the reform agenda to the economic promises made at the start of his administration, saying the changes reflect his government’s commitment to moving Nigerians from uncertainty into sustainable economic hope.
New tax reforms designed to support enterprise
Tinubu emphasised that the redesigned tax system is not merely a revenue-generation mechanism but a broader economic tool intended to stimulate productivity and investment.
According to him, the reforms are structured around three key objectives:
- simplifying Nigeria’s tax processes;
- eliminating distortions in revenue collection;
- creating a fair and transparent investment climate.
He noted that the government’s intention is to build a revenue model that rewards productive activity rather than punishes business expansion.
“The reforms are designed to simplify our system, eliminate distortions and create a fair, transparent and investment-friendly environment,” Tinubu said.
He added that every contribution made by taxpayers must translate into visible public value, stressing that taxation must become more accountable and equitable.
Government cites early gains from reform programme
The President said the administration is already recording measurable improvements from the tax overhaul, pointing to stronger fiscal stability, improved foreign reserves, a more efficient trade ecosystem, and rising investor confidence.
Tinubu maintained that these outcomes were not accidental but the result of deliberate policy design and sustained implementation.
He argued that a modern economy cannot function effectively under weak revenue institutions and said the reform process is central to rebuilding confidence in public finance management.
The President also used the occasion to highlight the symbolic significance of the new NRS headquarters, describing it as more than a physical structure.
“The building is more than concrete and steel. It is a symbol of professionalism, transparency, efficiency and service,” he said.
NRS headquarters reflects institutional transformation
The newly commissioned NRS headquarters, completed in 30 months, marks the end of a project that had remained unfinished for more than two decades after its foundation was first laid.
Tinubu praised the Executive Chairman of the NRS, Dr Zacch Adedeji, for completing the project and repositioning the agency into what he called a modern revenue hub equipped with technology, data systems, and research capacity.
The facility includes office space for 3,000 staff, a data processing centre, clinic, auditorium, training complex, gymnasium, and library.
The President said the building represents the kind of institutional renewal required to sustain Nigeria’s economic reform agenda.
Zacch Adedeji: Nigeria replaced 133-year-old tax legacy
In his remarks, NRS Executive Chairman Dr Zacch Adedeji described the reform package as one of the most significant tax restructurings in Nigeria’s history.
According to him, many of the laws recently replaced dated back as far as 1903.
“To put this in perspective, the first tax laws in this country were enacted in 1903, 133 years ago. We changed that,” Adedeji said.
He explained that over 60 fragmented tax laws have now been consolidated into a more coherent legal framework aimed at improving compliance, predictability, and administrative efficiency.
Adedeji stressed that the new system is not based on increasing tax burdens but on improving governance and broadening the tax base.
Revenue growth rises sharply under reforms
Adedeji disclosed that Nigeria’s total revenue collection rose from N6.8 trillion five years ago to N28.7 trillion by the end of 2025, describing the increase as evidence that structural reform is yielding results.
He also said federal distributable revenue available to the federation grew from N711 billion in May 2023, when Tinubu assumed office, to N3.6 trillion by September 2025.
That figure, he said, represents a 400% increase.
According to him, stronger remittance enforcement, improved transparency, and tighter fiscal controls have all contributed to the rise.
National Single Window seen as trade reform breakthrough
Beyond taxation, Adedeji said Nigeria has also made progress in customs and trade modernisation through the launch of the National Single Window (NSW), which aims to reduce inefficiencies in import and export processes.
He noted that previous administrations attempted unsuccessfully to implement the system six times over a decade.
However, under the current administration, the platform was launched on March 27 in collaboration with the Nigeria Customs Service.
The NSW is expected to reduce delays at ports, improve trade transparency, and enhance revenue collection from customs-linked transactions.
Akpabio and Abbas defend reform pains
Senate President Godswill Akpabio used the occasion to defend the Tinubu administration’s economic policies, arguing that Nigerians are beginning to see practical benefits from difficult reforms.
He cited the disappearance of long fuel queues across the country as one example of progress following subsidy removal and market restructuring.
“There was a time we were prepared to pay even N10,000 per litre for fuel, but they could not see the fuel. Today, there is no single fuel queue in Nigeria,” Akpabio said.
Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas also backed the reforms, saying Nigeria’s previous tax regime suffered from fragmented mandates and overlapping legal structures that produced low efficiency and weak public trust.
According to Abbas, the Tinubu administration’s reforms are bringing coherence to a previously disjointed system.
Analysts likely to watch implementation closely
While the government has framed the tax reforms as transformative, analysts are expected to monitor whether the promised benefits translate into lower compliance burdens for businesses, stronger subnational revenue performance, and improved public service delivery.
Key questions remain around how effectively the reforms will be implemented across federal and state levels, especially in a country where tax administration has historically been uneven.
For many businesses, the real test will be whether simplification leads to reduced duplication, faster dispute resolution, and a more predictable regulatory environment.
Bigger picture
Tinubu’s central message is that Nigeria’s tax reform is not simply about raising more money for government.
Rather, the administration is positioning it as a structural reset aimed at correcting decades of inefficiency inherited from colonial tax systems that no longer reflect the realities of a modern economy.
If implementation remains consistent, the government believes the new regime could become one of the defining economic pillars of the Renewed Hope Agenda.
For now, the administration is betting that replacing outdated tax laws with a unified framework will create the opportunities Tinubu says Nigerians were long denied under the old order.
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