Nigerians face untold economic hardship, which has worsened since President Bola Tinubu came into office in May 2023, but the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, said all that will change when the new tax laws come into effect in January 2026.
He gave the assurance during a Channels Television programme, ‘Inside Sources’, recently while addressing concerns about the Nigerian macro- and microeconomy.
According to Oyedele, the Nigerian macroeconomy has gained much, but the microeconomy is still waiting, stressing that succour is on the horizon when the new tax reform is fully implemented.
He said the microeconomic environment is where ordinary Nigerians can really feel the positive impacts of government tax reforms.
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“Now, here is where the good news is: these tax laws that have been signed by Mr President have six months for us to get ready; there is a lot of work to do in those six months.
“When that kicks in in January 2026, people will now see the micro. The micro is where the ordinary people on the streets, the households, low-income earners, and small businesses will see the real impact,” Oyedele said.
Pinnacle Daily reports that while microeconomics deals with individuals, households, and firms, macroeconomics focuses on the entire economy.
He believes it really impacts if the economy starts with the microeconomic side.
Looking at the macroeconomic side, Oyedele said ordinary Nigerians may not understand how the economy works.
He pointed out that the tax-to-GDP ratio and debt-service-to-revenue ratio may be big issues and very important, but that they may mean nothing to the ordinary Nigerians.
“If we were printing a lot of money to spend. In the last administration, over N30 trillion was printed if you add the interest to it.
“I have seen some commentaries here and there that this government has borrowed more than other governments since 1999 combined,” he said.
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He argued that many people are just getting the calculation wrong because they are failing to factor in the impact of the devaluation of the naira.
“We had external debts of about $46 billion before this president came on board. At the time we were deceiving ourselves that the exchange rate was N460.
“Just imagine you take $46 billion translated at N460 and now at about N1,500. That is more than N1,000 per dollar. That is about N48 trillion added to it, not because anybody borrowed anything,” Oyedele explained.
Noting that the amount the late President Muhammadu Buhari’s government printed for the country to spend was securitised but was not added to the public debt.
According to the tax expert, one of the issues Nigeria has had is that the country needed to be honest in making sure its reports are complete and accurate.
“It shouldn’t be owing 50 [dollars] and reporting 30,” he said.
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He pointed out that at the macro level, Nigeria is no longer printing money to spend.
“Our debt-service-to-revenue ratio was as high as 97 per cent in 2022. It is almost like it is unreal to bring it down in just two years from almost 100 per cent to under 50 per cent.
“The tax-to-GDP ratio was under 10 per cent just two years ago. At the end of 2024, we are under 13.5 per cent. I don’t know of any country where they have done it so quickly like that,” Oyedele said.
Alex is a business journalist cum data enthusiast with the Pinnacle Daily. He can be reached via ealex@thepinnacleng.com, @ehime_alex on X
