Economy
Court Okays Implementation of Nigeria’s New Tax Regime from January 1
By Adedapo Adesanya
An Abuja High Court has cleared the way for the implementation of Nigeria’s new tax regime scheduled to commence tomorrow, Thursday, January 1, 2026, as it dismissed a suit seeking to halt the exercise.
The ruling gives the federal government, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the National Assembly full legal backing to proceed with the take-off of the new tax laws.
The suit was filed by the Incorporated Trustees of African Initiative for Abuse of Public Trustees, which dragged the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the President, the Attorney-General of the Federation, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the National Assembly before the court over alleged discrepancies in the recently enacted tax laws.
In an ex parte motion, the plaintiff sought an interim injunction restraining the federal government, FIRS, the National Assembly and related agencies from implementing or enforcing the provisions of the Nigeria Tax Act, 2025; Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025; Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, 2025; and the Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria (Establishment) Act, 2025, pending the determination of the substantive suit.
The group also asked the court to restrain President Bola Tinubu from implementing the laws in any part of the federation pending the hearing of its motion on notice.
However, in a ruling delivered on Tuesday, Justice Kawu struck out the application, holding that it lacked merit and failed to establish sufficient legal grounds to warrant the grant of the reliefs sought.
The court ruled that the plaintiffs did not demonstrate how the implementation of the new tax laws would occasion irreparable harm or violate any provision of the Constitution, stressing that matters of fiscal policy and economic reforms fall squarely within the powers of government.
Recall that Mr Tinubu had ignored suspension calls and insists the new tax laws will take off tomorrow.
Justice Kawu further held that once a law has been duly enacted and gazetted, any alleged errors or controversies could only be addressed through legislative amendment or a substantive court order, noting that disagreements over tax laws cannot stop the implementation of an existing law.
Consequently, the court affirmed that there was no legal impediment to the commencement of the new tax regime and directed that implementation should proceed as scheduled from January 1, 2026.
The new tax regime is anchored on four landmark tax reform bills signed into law in 2025 as part of the Federal Government’s broader fiscal and economic reform agenda aimed at boosting revenue, simplifying the tax system and reducing leakages.
The laws — the Nigeria Tax Act, 2025, Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025, Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, 2025, and the Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria (Establishment) Act, 2025 — consolidate and replace several existing tax statutes, including laws governing companies income tax, personal income tax, value added tax, capital gains tax and stamp duties.
Key elements of the reforms include the harmonisation of multiple taxes into a more streamlined framework, expansion of the tax base, protection for low-income earners and small businesses, and the introduction of modern, technology-driven tax administration systems such as digital filing and electronic compliance monitoring.
The reforms also provide for the restructuring of federal tax administration, including the creation of the Nigeria Revenue Service, to strengthen efficiency, coordination and revenue collection across government levels.
The Tinubu administration has said the reforms are critical to stabilising public finances and funding infrastructure and social services, however recent allegations of discrepancies between the versions passed by the National Assembly and those later gazetted has raised a few eyebrows including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The operating licence of a capital market operator, Kensington Agro Trading Limited, has been revoked by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The capital market regulator, in a circular dated February 09, 2026, disclosed that the action “pursuant to the powers of the commission under Section 61(6) of the Investments and Securities Act, 2025, and Rule 34(1) of the SEC Rules and Regulations 2013, as amended.”
The disclosure noted that the revocation of the licence of the company was “with immediate effect.”
The reason for withdrawing the operating licence of Kensington Agro Trading Limited was not stated in the notice.
“The Securities and Exchange Commission hereby notifies the general public of the revocation of the registration of Kensington Agro Trading Limited as a capital market operator (Commodity Broker/Dealer and Collateral Manager) with immediate effect.
“The revocation of the company’s registration is invoked pursuant to the powers of the Commission under Section 61(6) of the Investments and Securities Act, 2025, and Rule 34(1) of the SEC Rules and Regulations 2013, as amended.
“Accordingly, Commodity Exchanges, the investing public, commodity traders, and all Capital Market Stakeholders are advised to discontinue capital market-related dealings with the company,” the circular signed by the management noted.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The latest off-cycle data released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has revealed that Nigeria’s revenue from the oil and gas industry dipped by 25.04 per cent to N877.176 billion in December 2025, compared with N1.17 trillion received from energy firms in November 2025
In its presentation to the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) on receipts and expenditures for December 2025, the CBN disclosed that the amount earned from the oil and gas industry in the month under review represented 95.65 per cent of the sector’s budgeted revenue of N917.064 billion for the month.
In comparison, revenue from the petroleum industry in November 2025 accounted for 96.38 per cent of the N1.474 trillion budgeted for the sector in November 2025.
Providing a breakdown of revenue from the industry in December 2025, the CBN stated that the country earned N772.727 million from crude oil sales, dropping by 97.92 per cent from N37.134 billion recorded in November 2025; while the it recorded revenue of N9.019 billion from gas sales, rising by 24.14 per cent from N7.265 billion recorded in November.
Furthermore, the financial sector apex regulator noted that revenue from crude oil royalties dipped by 12.52 per cent to N514.288 billion in the month under review, from N587.865 billion recorded in the previous month; while receipts from miscellaneous oil revenue grew by 97.5 per cent to N2.678 billion in December 2025, from N1.356 billion in the previous month.
It also stated that royalties from gas appreciated by 124.91 per cent to N21.153 billion in December, from N9.405 billion in November 2025; revenue from gas flared penalties stood at N48.858 billion, down by 5.76 per cent from N51.842 billion in November, while revenue from Companies’ Income Tax (CIT) from upstream oil industry operations stood at N73.066 billion, as against N106.106 billion in the previous month.
The CBN further revealed that revenue from Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT) stood at N79.247 billion; rentals – N1.5 billion; while taxes stood at N126.594 billion, compared with N301.471 billion. N775.162 million, and N67.242 billion, respectively, in November 2025.
In addition, the CBN reported that from the country’s oil and gas revenue in December 2025, N18.163 billion was deducted for 13 per cent refund on subsidy, priority projects and Police Trust Fund from 1999 to 2021; while N8.761 billion was deducted by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), in respect of its 13 per cent management fee and frontier exploration fund.
It added that N23.724 billion was deducted and collected by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) in December 2025, being four per cent of the cost of collection; while N46.903 billion was transferred to the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund from gas flared penalties in the same month.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
On Saturday, February 28, 2026, the Implementation Committee for Executive Order 9 held its inaugural meeting, headed by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun.
The panel, at the gathering, reaffirmed the directive of President Bola Tinubu that revenues accruing to the federation from petroleum operations must be handled in a manner that upholds constitutional principles, protects revenues accruable to the nation, and supports the fiscal stability of all three tiers of government.
It approved the establishment of a technical subcommittee to develop the detailed guidelines for the transition to direct remittance within three weeks, and commence a review of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) to address structural and fiscal anomalies that weaken Federation revenues.
It was agreed that the subcommittee would be led by the Special Adviser to the President on Energy, and will include the Solicitor-General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary Federal Ministry of Justice, the Chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service, and the Chairman of the Forum of Commissioners of Finance, representatives of the Minister of State Petroleum Resources, Oil, with secretarial support from the Budget Office of the Federation.
The committee promised to provide coordinated guidance and timely updates as implementation progresses. It commended the cooperation of all stakeholders in advancing the President’s efforts to ensure that Nigeria’s petroleum resources deliver tangible, measurable benefits to citizens across the Federation.
Under the new order, Mr Tinubu directed that NNPC Limited shall cease, with immediate effect, the collection of the 30 per cent management fee and the 30 per cent frontier exploration fund deductions from profit oil and profit gas under Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs).
Additionally, all remittances of gas flare penalties into the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund (MDGIF) are suspended with immediate effect, in line with the Executive Order.
With respect to Section 2, Sub-section 3 of the Executive Order on direct payments by contractors into the Federation Account, the panel agreed that this transition must be implemented in a manner that respects existing contractual and financing arrangements, and maintains investor confidence.
For this reason, the committee approved a defined transition period for the operationalisation of direct payments by contractors of profit oil, royalty oil, and tax oil into the Federation Account.
Until the Committee issues detailed guidelines, contractors will continue to remit under the current process. During the transition period, the Committee will issue clear, standardised guidance to ensure an orderly changeover.
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