Economy
New Tax Laws Will Favour Nigerian Workers, States—Oyedele
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, says the tax reform bills proposed by the administration of President Bola Tinubu will lift the tax burden on 90 per cent of Nigerian workers.
He gave this clarification while appearing before senators during the plenary to brief the lawmakers on the need to pass the bills on Wednesday.
He also explained that the bills aim to review the sharing formula of the Value Added Tax (VAT) to accommodate what each state will get for what is consumed within their territory.
Recall that in September, President Tinubu transmitted four tax bills to the National Assembly for approval. These are the Nigeria Tax Bill 2024, the Tax Administration Bill, the Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Bill, and the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill.
One of the bills seeks to change the sharing formula of the Value Added Tax by reducing the federal government’s share from 15 per cent to 10 per cent. However, the bill includes a caveat that the allocation among states will factor in the derivation principle.
Mr Oyedele said if the bills are passed and assented to by the president, 30 per cent of Nigerians who earn between N50,000 to N70,000 monthly will be exempted from paying tax to the government because they are classified as poor people.
“These proposals, if approved by the Senate, will reduce the tax on 90 per cent of our workers, both in the private and the public sector, and it will exempt more than 30 per cent of our citizens who earn about minimum wage, around 50,000, 60,000, 70,000 Naira,” he said.
Mr Oyedele noted that Nigerian workers who earn above N70,000 monthly will commit to payment of taxes.
He explained that those earning N100 million monthly will pay 25 per cent of their income as tax.
“Then the remaining 10 per cent who are not so poor will now pay a little bit more. The top rate today is 24 per cent in the long, and we are proposing it goes to 25 per cent. We are doing some other reforms around allowances and relief.
“So effectively, if somebody earns 100 million Naira a month, the maximum they will pay even on that approval side is only 25 per cent. If they were in South Africa, they would be paying 41 per cent. If they were in Kenya, they would be paying 35 per cent. Of course, if they were in the UK or the US, they would be close to 40 per cent, but we are doing only 25 per cent.”
He also noted there will be changes to VAT sharing formula, adding the tax reform bills prescribed that every state will receive credit for consumption within their territory and that the state government will only have power to collect sales tax, leaving the tax on import and international services for the federal government.
“Our proposal before you is that going forward, if we have your approval for the bills, every state will receive credit for the consumption within their territory.
“Number one, every state will collect less than half of what they are getting now. Number two, businesses will struggle because you bought something in Kaduna and you are selling it in FCT. They will not allow you for the input, and the more the cost piles up, the more businesses will struggle,” he added.
He further explained that, “If states should begin to collect VAT today, they will not be able to collect import VAT. Import VAT and international VAT is about half the VAT we collect in Nigeria today. If anybody could benefit at all, it would be the federal government,” he added.
Mr Oyedele emphasised that each state will get credit for economic activities within their jurisdiction.
Mr Oyedele also said the tax reform bills will review the percentage formula for sharing VAT by the federal, state and local governments.
The current formula for sharing VAT prescribes that the federal government should take 15 per cent, the states 50 per cent and the local government 35 per cent.
The tax man noted that the reform bills will review the VAT sharing formula and make states the largest receivers among the three tier of government, as it will take 5 per cent from the FG.
“10 per cent (will go to the) federal government, 55 per cent state government and 35 per cent local government,” he said, “Provided that 60 per cent of the amount standing to the credit of states and local governments shall be distributed among them on the basis of derivation.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
Waltersmith Refining and Petrochemical Company Limited has announced plans to commence two further phases of expansion, which will include the construction of a 30,000-barrel-per-day condensate refinery and an industry park that will accommodate other gas-based firms.
The chairman of Waltersmith Petroman, Mr Abdulrazak Isa, revealed this during a visit of the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Mr Felix Omatsola Ogbe, and the chief executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Mr Saidu Mohammed, to the Waltersmith modular refinery at Ohaji- Egbema, Imo State.
Mr Isa said the firm would develop a gas line that would deliver 100 million standard cubic feet of gas per day, and provide an embedded captive power, to attract industries to co-locate in the industrial park.
Plans are afoot to conclude the partnership agreement for the condensate refinery by the 4th quarter of 2026, he said, adding that feedstock for the integrated expansions will come from the Ibigwe and Assa fields, as well as from nearby fields.
The chairman underlined the company’s determination to invest in the petrochemical sector, leveraging its access to gas and Naphtha, noting that the petrochemical industry is a key enabler of the economy.
He sought approvals from the NMDRA for the various stages of the upcoming developments.
The visit was to inspect the newly completed expansion of the firm’s refining capacity, from 5,000 barrels per day to 10,000 barrels per day.
NCDMB invested equity in Waltersmith Refining and Petrochemical Company Limited’s modular refinery in 2018 and helped catalyse the investment, leading to the commissioning of the first phase of the plant in November 2020.
NCDMB also participated in the expansion, which is now completed and operational, producing AGO (diesel), Household kerosine (HHK), HFO (Heavy Fuel Oil) and Naphtha.
The refinery has to date supplied over 1.1 billion litres of refined products to local and regional markets, helping to strengthen Nigeria’s and West Africa’s energy security and contributing immensely to the national economy. The refinery supplies most of its products to the South-East and South-South parts of the country, while the HFO gets to the West African sub-region.
On his part, Mr Mohammed expressed his delight at the success of the facility and promised the agency’s support to the company’s expansion plans, saying the midstream sector of the petroleum industry holds the key to the nation’s economic development, adding that the establishment of such projects is the dream of every administration.
He described Waltersmith as an octopus in the midstream sector and challenged the company to hasten the development of the condensate refinery. Mohammed also commended NCDMB for partnering with Waltersmith to develop the project, which had become a runaway success.
The Director of Legal Services at NCDMB, Mr Naboth Onyesoh, who represented the organisation’s scribe, conveyed the board’s delight at the success of Waltersmith modular refinery, describing the company as a model in local content implementation, especially in direct and indirect job creation, capital retention, industrialisation, import substitution and value addition to crude oil and gas resources.
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited was bullish last week despite investors’ mood swing, triggered by happenings in the country and across the globe, especially the Middle East crisis.
The All-Share Index (ASI) and the market capitalisation appreciated week-on-week by 3.94 per cent to 225,722.49 points and N145.335 trillion, respectively.
Similarly, all other indices finished higher with the exception of the growth and commodity indices, which depreciated by 0.02 per cent and 0.41 per cent, respectively, while the sovereign bond index closed flat.
A look at the price changes of shares in the five-day trading week showed that
46 stocks gained weight versus 61 stocks of the previous week, 53 equities shed weight compared with 36 equities a week earlier, and 47 shares closed flat, in contrast to 49 shares of the preceding week.
UAC Nigeria led the gainers’ chart after it chalked up 42.00 per cent to trade at N142.00, Union Dicon appreciated by 32.73 per cent to N21.90, NASCON expanded by 32.63 per cent to N206.90, Trans-Nationwide Express rose by 30.58 per cent to N7.90, and Zichis improved by 25.71 per cent to N15.60.
On the flip side, Infinity Trust Mortgage Bank led the losers’ group after it gave up 50.79 per cent to close at N9.35, Abbey Mortgage Bank declined by 33.33 per cent to N5.40, Guinea Insurance slipped by 15.20 per cent to N1.06, Stanbic IBTC lost 13.82 per cent to settle at N162.50, and Living Trust Mortgage Bank slumped by 10.98 per cent to N3.65.
As for the activity log, Customs Street recorded a turnover of 3.805 billion shares worth N213.955 billion in 297,202 deals in the week compared with 3.588 billion shares valued at N195.313 billion transacted in 254,553 deals in the previous week.
Financial stocks led the activity chart with 2.739 billion units sold for N106.269 billion in 135,101 deals, contributing 71.99 per cent and 49.67 per cent to the total trading volume and value, respectively.
Services equities traded 212.324 million units worth N4.024 billion in 17,042 deals, and consumer goods shares exchanged 180.076 million units valued at N13.269 billion in 32,457 deals.
Access Holdings, UBA, and First Holdco were the busiest with 814.060 million units traded for N39.032 billion in 37,195 deals, contributing 21.40 per cent and 18.24 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value, respectively.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The 65th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Group Plc has been fixed for Wednesday, April 29, 2026, at 11:00 am at its corporate head office on 2–4 Customs Street, Lagos.
Business Post gathered that the meeting would be streamed live on the company’s website and social media platforms to enable broader participation by shareholders and stakeholders unable to attend physically.
As part of a special business, shareholders will consider a proposed bonus issue of one new ordinary share for every three existing shares held as at the close of business on April 10, 2026, subject to regulatory approvals.
The proposal also includes an increase in the organisation’s share capital from N1,102,309,954 to N1,469,746,605, to accommodate the bonus shares and amendments to the Memorandum of Association to reflect the new capital structure.
Also at the gathering, shareholders will consider and, if deemed fit, approve the company’s audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2025, alongside the reports of the directors, auditors, board evaluation consultants, and audit committee.
The meeting will also deliberate on the declaration of a final dividend and the re-election of three non-executive directors retiring by rotation, who are Mr Umaru Kwairanga, Mrs Ojinika Olaghere, and Dr Okechukwu Itanyi.
Other ordinary business items on the agenda include authorising the board to fix the remuneration of the external auditors, determining the remuneration of managers, and electing members of the statutory audit committee.
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