Former Speaker of the House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara has described President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's economic reforms as "revolutionary" and the most far-reaching in Nigeria's recent history.
Dogara said the President inherited "an economy in comatose" and had taken "bold and courageous" steps to pull it back from the brink, including the removal of petrol subsidy and the scrapping of multiple exchange rates on assuming office on May 29, 2023.
"This is a legacy that would impact generations after us and cement President Tinubu's place in Nigeria's history as the undisputed most consequential economic reformer of our time," Dogara said at the maiden Distinguished Parliamentarian Lecture organised by the House of Representatives Press Corps at the National Assembly in Abuja.
His lecture, titled Navigating Tax Reform in Nigeria: Insights on President Tinubu's Policies, examined the scope and impact of the new Nigeria Tax Act (NTA) 2025 and related legislation.
Dogara said the reforms consolidated 16 federal tax laws into four principal Acts:
He said the reforms, which take effect in January 2026, are designed to simplify Nigeria's complex tax regime, broaden the tax net, and align domestic rules with global standards, while protecting the poor and empowering businesses.
Among the reliefs introduced are exemptions for small companies with turnover of N100 million or less, rent reliefs for salaried workers, tax credits for upstream oil operators, and full income tax exemption for individuals earning N800,000 or less annually. Multiple sectoral levies have been abolished and replaced with a single four per cent development levy, while digital gains, crypto assets and foreign exchange earnings have been brought into the tax net.
Dogara urged transparency in the implementation of the reforms to build public trust.
"True tax reform is not about raising rates but about raising trust. When citizens can see where their naira goes, they are proud to give it," he said, calling for revenues raised through taxation to be used to build roads, power industries, and improve hospitals and schools.
Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas, represented by the House Spokesperson Akin Rotimi, commended the reforms as "a significant intervention that promises to re-engineer our tax administration architecture for greater efficiency, fairness and transparency".
Abbas said the National Assembly devoted considerable time to processing the executive bills through stakeholder consultations and robust debate, calling the reforms "one of the most significant steps of building our Fourth Republic".
He also reaffirmed the House's commitment to open governance, press freedom and citizen engagement, urging journalists to uphold objectivity, reject fake news, and partner with lawmakers to strengthen democracy.
The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) also pledged stronger collaboration with the media to deepen public understanding of the fiscal reforms.