The Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti, has lauded the newly implemented tax act, noting that it addresses the very concerns he raised over a decade ago regarding fiscal reform and revenue leakages.
Otti thanked Professor Taiwo Oyedele, head of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, for reflecting arguments from Otti’s October 31, 2016, This Day column, ‘The Fiscal Side of Things’, in the four bills signed by President Bola Tinubu on June 26, 2025.
The laws, effective January 1, 2026, simplify over 60 taxes, exempt low-income earners, end multiple taxation, and aim to lift Nigeria’s tax-to-GDP ratio from 10% to 18% without raising rates on essentials.
His endorsement, amid criticism from Labour Party’s Peter Obi, who flagged 31 KPMG-noted flaws, highlights policy divides and draws partisan reactions online.
Otti said, “Let me start by thanking prof Taiwo Oyedele for his presentation and then the moderator for the explanation and further adoration.
“When the tax reform bill was being put together, I was very happy for the simple reason that almost 10 years ago. Precisely, on the 31st day of October, 2016, I had written an article in my back page column in This Day, titled The Fiscal side of things and made a lot of arguments.”
He added, “At that time, and that’s 10 years ago. When I looked at the bill that is now in law, I saw that a lot of the things I had raised then were included.
“I want to thank Prof Oyedele a lot of times, when people are attacking him, just like the taxman, they don’t understand. This joke about the taxman and the Rottweiler, the question is which one is worse.”
“And then the response is that the Rottweiler will at some point leave you alone, but not the Taxman. So when you see the attacks, it goes in with territory,” the statement concluded.
