Tax laws: NANS mobilises for nationwide protest

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has begun mobilisation of students nationwide to protest against the implementation of the tax laws that take effect today, January 1, 2026 as planned.

It declared January 14, 2026 as a National Day of Action against the implementation of the controversial Tax Reform Law.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Tuesday said “No substantial issue has been established that warrants a disruption of the reform process” amid calls for the suspension of the implementation of the tax laws.

The tax laws reform had generated controversies over allegations that the gazetted copies differ from the versions passed by the National Assembly.

Stakeholders including the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the minority caucus of the House of Representatives, among others, had called for the suspension of the implementation.

A member of the House of Representatives, Abdussamad Dasuki, had alleged that there were discrepancies between the versions of the tax bills passed by lawmakers and the copies gazetted.

Reacting to the government’s decision to kick off the implemtation of the new tax regime today, NANS President Olushola Oladoja, in a statement, faulted the implementation of the new law from January 1, 2026 when a lot of issues in the gazetted law were yet to be resolved.

He said the decision to proceed with implementing the Tax Reform Laws from today “is not only unfortunate but a dangerous precedent for a government that claims commitment to participatory reforms and democratic values.

“The statement released by the Presidency, reaffirming that implementation will proceed as planned from 1st January, stands as a grave insult to Nigerians, who are the true sovereigns in a democracy, who trusted and voted for the President. To observe that the process for engaging citizens over the Tax Reform Law is not democratic reflects hegemony, high-handedness, and outright disregard for citizens, especially ordinary Nigerians.

“As the NANS President, I, therefore, call on all NANS structures – campus chapters, state joints, zonal coordinators, and the national secretariat – to commence immediate massive mobilisation for a peaceful mass protest and march to the Presidential Villa Gate in Abuja on the said date. The convergence point shall be Unity Fountain, Abuja. Further operational details will be communicated in due course.

“Our demands remain clear, non-negotiable, and just: Immediate suspension of the implementation of the otherwise beautiful but deeply controversial Tax Reform Law.”

Falana to sue FG

Also, human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), yesterday warned that the new tax laws cannot take effect until controversies surrounding the legitimacy of their provisions are resolved.

Addressing journalists at his Ilawe-Ekiti hometown in Ekiti State on Wednesday, Falana said the government ought to have used the closing days of 2025 to address the concerns and produced clean copies of the laws before the commencement date.

He warned that failure to do so could trigger legal challenges from interest groups questioning the laws’ legitimacy.

He said: “There are questions about the authentic tax laws—so which laws are we talking about? Until we have clean copies, you cannot talk of commencement,” adding that allegations of inserted provisions amounted to forgery, for which the National Assembly bore responsibility.

Falana also faulted the lack of transparency, describing it as unacceptable that bills passed and signed into law were not readily accessible on the National Assembly’s website.

He threatened legal action over what he termed discriminatory provisions that exempted some wealthy companies—particularly those operating in Free Trade Zones (FTZ)—from taxes and duties.

He described such exemptions as unjust, illegal and inconsistent with the constitution, insisting that progressive taxation required the rich to pay more, not less.

Group alleges coercion

A group under the aegis of ‘House to the Rescue’ yesterday offered a N3 million public reward to any serving member of the National Assembly who can produce a verifiable, authentic copy of the tax law Nigerians are being told to obey to bring what it called ‘this charade’ to an end.

A statement jointly e-signed by Hon Jika Adamu, Hon Bassey Ewah and Hon Nko Nkole said that until the authentic tax law is produced and independently verified, any attempt to enforce it is “illegal, oppressive, and morally indefensible.”

The group accused the government of “ruling by announcement, not legislation; by coercion, not consent; and by fear, not legality.”

They added that their failure raised only three possibilities: the law was altered after passage, multiple versions are in circulation, and Nigerians are being deliberately misled.

“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (PBAT) and his tax enforcement machinery are acting with the arrogance of a junta, not the restraint of a constitutional democracy.

“Laws in Nigeria do not take effect because the President wants them to. They do not exist because a consultant insists they do.

“They are not enforced because citizens are hungry, exhausted, or afraid.

“A tax law that cannot be publicly produced, independently verified, and legally cited does not exist, no matter how aggressively it is marketed, no matter how many agencies are deployed to terrorise the poor.

“The state must prove legality. If this law exists, then: produce the clean copy passed by the Senate, produce the clean copy passed by the House of Representatives, produce the harmonised version, cite the commencement clause, and identify the exact sections authorising implementation. Anything short of this is executive lawlessness and constitutional contempt.”

“Taxation without legitimacy is not reform. It is economic violence. To impose new tax burdens amid inflation, mass unemployment, collapsing businesses, insecurity, and shrinking purchasing power is already cruel. To do so without a transparent legal foundation is not reform, it is abuse.

“Nigerians cannot be sacrificed to impress foreign creditors, international financial institutions, or neoliberal enforcers who will never bear the human cost of these policies.

“A government that prioritises external applause over internal legitimacy has forfeited moral authority.”

Court declines to halt tax laws

implementation

An FCT High Court has refused to stop the January 1, 2026, start date for the implementation of the new tax regime.

A civil society organisation, Incorporated Trustees of African Initiative for Abuse of Public Trust, had brought a suit seeking an interlocutory injunction against the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Attorney-General of the Federation, President of the Senate, Speaker of the House of Representatives and National Assembly over the alleged discrepancies in the tax laws.

In the ruling signed by the registrar of the court on December 30, 2025, Justice Kawu Bello held that: “I have considered the application together with the affidavit in support. I have also considered the submission of the learned counsel for the claimant/applicant together with the judicial authorities cited, and I am of the strong view that the court lacks the power to stop the implementation of a law already signed by the appropriate authority without concrete evidence of any wrongdoing.”

The judge noted that an ex parte application could not be used to set aside the coming into force of any act already passed and gazetted, adding that the law could only be repealed by the lawmakers or any offending section set aside by the court.

The judge ruled that, “In view of the above, the implementation of the Tax Act 2025 and other related acts will commence on January 1, 2026, and continue to be in force pending the hearing and determination of the originating motion before this court.”

In a motion ex parte dated December 22, 2025, the CSO, through its counsel, Nnamdi Mba, sought an order of interim injunction pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit to stop/restrain the federal government, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), National Assembly or any of its agencies from implementing, executing and/or enforcing any of the provisions of the gazetted Nigeria Tax Act 2025, Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025, the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act 2025 or the Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria (Establishment) Act 2025 for any reasons pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.

Hearing of the suit has been fixed for January 9, 2026.

By Muideen Olaniyi, John Chuks Azu (Abuja) & Raphael Ogbonnaiye (Ado-Ekiti)

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