Oyedele Rejects Claims He Admitted Faults in New Tax Laws Despite Viral Video

Taiwo Oyedele, Minister of State for Finance, has dismissed reports suggesting he admitted errors in Nigeria’s new tax laws, following a viral video that appeared to capture him referencing “problems we identified” during the reform process.

The fiscal reforms committee, in an April 10 statement, clarified that Oyedele’s comments referred to procedural challenges such as manual processes and the complexity of multiple legislative stages, adding that identified gaps were already being addressed through a proposed finance bill.

In a clarification shared on his official X handle on Sunday, the committee said the interpretation of his remarks by some media outlets was misleading. It maintained that no admission of legislative error was made, noting that the reforms were discussed during a fireside chat at the NBA-SLP conference in Lagos, where Oyedele highlighted improvements such as increased business registrations and a wider tax net.

The committee further stated that tax registrations had risen significantly from under 10 million to over 100 million, while more informal businesses were being captured into the system through ongoing reforms and stakeholder engagement.