Experts at the 2026 Economic Outlook organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) have called for stronger inter-agency engagement in the implementation of the new tax reform laws to ensure effective execution and desired outcomes.
At a panel session, the Director-General of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dr. Chinyere Almona, said inter-agency collaboration was critical to addressing conflicts that often arise within policy execution structures.
Almona called for the deployment of technology and a centralised system to monitor policy implementation, noting that weak coordination among government institutions had continued to undermine policy outcomes.
Also speaking, the Director-General of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, called for tax policy implementation that promotes inclusive growth without compromising competitiveness.
Ajayi-Kadir said the manufacturing sector’s contribution to the Gross Domestic Product remained below 10 per cent, despite its importance to economic growth.
He also expressed concern over the rising level of unsold inventory across the sector, which he estimated at about ₦2 trillion, blaming the situation on multiple challenges confronting manufacturers.
Nigeria At Delicate But Defining Moment – Hayatudeen
Earlier, the chairman of the session, Mohammed Hayatudeen, said Nigeria was entering 2026 at a delicate but defining moment.
He noted that after the turbulence of the 2023-2024 reform cycle, the economy had regained some stability, with inflation moderating, the exchange rate stabilising and external revenue strengthening.
Despite the improvements, Hayatudeen said poverty levels remained high and warned that the success of ongoing reforms would depend largely on effective implementation.
“This also raises important questions for practitioners and policymakers alike,” he said.
“Will ambition in tax policy be matched by capacity in tax administration and compliance? Laws alone do not raise revenue, capacity does. Systems do and professionals do. How these reforms are executed will test institutions in terms of their durability and efficacy.”
Accountability Critical To Economic Stability – ICAN President
In his welcome remarks, the ICAN President, Mallam Haruna Nma Yahaya, said accountability remained critical to Nigeria’s economic stability and long-term development as the country navigates ongoing reforms and a fragile recovery.
He said the 2026 ICAN Economic Outlook was designed as a platform to link professional responsibility with national progress.
Yahaya noted that Nigeria’s economy showed signs of stabilisation in 2025, with real GDP growth rising above four per cent in the second quarter, driven by improvements in manufacturing, trade and services.
He added that inflation eased toward the mid-14 per cent range by the end of the year, reflecting tighter monetary policy and improved supply conditions.
According to him, external buffers strengthened as foreign exchange reserves rose to multi-year highs, supported by stronger exports and reforms in the foreign exchange market.
He said trade and current-account balances returned to surplus, while private-sector activity improved, with the Purchasing Managers’ Index rising to 57.6 points, indicating strong expansion and improved business confidence.
Despite these gains, Yahaya warned that progress remained fragile and could be undermined without discipline, transparency and strong institutions.
“Accountability is not merely a governance ideal; it is an economic imperative,” he said.
FG Halts Tax Law Guidelines
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has halted the issuance of guidelines for the implementation of the newly enacted tax laws due to uncertainty over their final and authentic versions.
Naija News reports that the Chairman of the Presidential Tax Reform Committee, Taiwo Oyedele, disclosed this while responding to questions after his keynote address at the event.
Oyedele said he had directed the Nigeria Revenue Service and the Joint Revenue Board to suspend the issuance of guidelines until clarity is achieved.
“So, I also told everybody, the NRS, JRB, you too wait, because we cannot issue guidelines,” he said.
“We are not 100 per cent certain that this is the final official position.”
Oyedele explained that the uncertainty arose from questions over whether the documents currently in circulation represent the final versions of the tax laws.
He said the situation prompted him to instruct his team to purchase printed copies from the government printer in line with the Acts Authentication Act.
“The Acts Authentication Act says whatever the government printer publishes is the evidence of the law that was passed,” Oyedele said.
However, his staff were unable to obtain the printed laws.
“So, I sent my staff, go to the government printer and go and buy. They went there, but as of last week, they said it’s not ready. That they should wait,” he said.
Oyedele added that his staff later informed him that the National Assembly had collected all printed copies from the government printer and directed that they should not be sold to the public pending the conclusion of its review.
“In the interest of accountability and transparency, my staff told me that everything that they printed, the National Assembly collected from them and said they shouldn’t sell to anyone,” he said.
“While that is good, it also creates uncertainty again.”
Reps Probe Alleged Alterations
Naija News reports that the four tax laws, the National Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, the Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria (Establishment) Act, the Nigeria Tax Administration Act and the Nigeria Tax Act, took effect on January 1.
They, however, generated controversy following allegations that the gazetted versions differed from those passed by the National Assembly.
At a House plenary in December, Abdussamad Dasuki (PDP, Sokoto) raised a matter of privilege, alleging discrepancies between the passed bills and the gazetted versions.
Dasuki said the content of the gazetted laws did not reflect what lawmakers debated and approved after he compared them with the Votes and Proceedings of the House and the harmonised versions adopted by both chambers.
The House later set up a seven-man committee to investigate the allegations.
On January 3, the National Assembly released Certified True Copies of the approved versions and disowned the controversial gazetted copies.
However, reacting to the controversy, Oyedele said the changes identified would not affect the core provisions of the tax laws.
“There are few items that shouldn’t affect the main thing that people need, nothing about the tax rate, about the tax burden, the filing deadline,” he said.
Oyedele also expressed concern over what he described as stiff opposition to the reforms, including the spread of misinformation.
He alleged that some Nigerians were paid to protest against the tax reforms.
“You see a group, they gave them ₦30m to go and protest,” he said on Wednesday.
Oyedele further narrated how misinformation led to panic in the stock market.
“In November 2025, misinformation made Nigerian stocks lose ₦4.6 trillion in one day,” he said.
“The new tax laws exempt someone who sells up to ₦150 million a year. Why are people selling ₦1m in panic?”
Speaking on the theme of the event, Oyedele described accountability as the bridge between reform and results.
“Your reforms can be brilliant,” he said.
“We’re just not very good with execution. And one of the reasons execution failed is poor accountability.”
SOURCE: NaijaNews