Economy
VAIDS: Avoid Last Minute Rush—FIRS Boss Begs Nigerians
By Dipo Olowookere
Executive Chairman of Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr Babatunde Fowler, has urged Nigerians to quickly regularise their tax payment before the tax amnesty period closes on Saturday, June 30, 2018.
On July 1, 2017, the federal government opened a grace period for citizens to voluntarily regularise their tax payment without punishment.
It called the programme Voluntary Assets Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS) and it initially ended March 31, 2018. However, many Nigerians pleaded with the government for an extension and the government obliged, pushing the deadline further to June 30, 2018.
At the unveiling of VAIDS Certificate for previously undeclared assets, which coincided with a one-day workshop for tax authorities on the scheme, Mr Fowler said the scheme has so far recovered almost N30 billion.
He explained that of the amount, FIRS collected 90 per cent while states have been responsible for collecting 10 per cent but that the actual amount collected would not be known immediately after the June 30 expiration of VAIDS but after three years when every taxpayer would have finished paying their assessment under the scheme.
At the workshop held on Wednesday in Abuja, the FIRS chief advised states boards of inland revenue to brace up for last minute rush as the deadline for the scheme draws near, saying that since people generally don’t like to pay tax, most of them would wait until the last minute before rushing to tax offices to file their returns.
According to him, the benefit of VAIDS goes beyond just taking advantage of immediate gains as incidences of illicit financial flows, aggressive tax avoidance and outright tax evasion have come into the front burner.
“One of the outcomes of the scheme whether directly or indirectly is the growth of the national taxpayer database from under 14 million pre-2016 numbers to over 19 million in 2018, and we are confident that these numbers will translate into a positive growth in the country tax revenue to GDP ratio when the official percentage for 2017 has been released.
“VAIDS as a project ties in with the Unexplained Wealth Orders (UWO) of the United Kingdom and in m more ways than one shares similar underlying principles with the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance on Tax Matters (MCMAATM) which facilitates international tax cooperation and provides for all possible forms of administrative co-operation between states in the assessment and collection of taxes, in particular with a view to combating tax avoidance and evasion,” he said.
He enumerated the cooperation to include the exchange of information on request, automatically and spontaneously, to assistance in the recovery of foreign tax claims.
In line with the convention, Mr Fowler said efforts were being made towards ensuring that Nigeria commences the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) with treaty partners in 2019.
As part of efforts to preach voluntary tax compliance to the grassroots, Fowler, who is also Chairman of Joint Tax Board said a partnership has been forged among FIRS, JTB and SMEDAN as a way of bringing operators of small and medium scale enterprises into the tax bracket.
From June 14, the staff of JTB and Federal Ministry of Finance will participate in every Thursday sensitisation exercises in states until June end while “the National Tax Policy Implementation Committee is proposing National Tax Day” to be set aside every year for awareness and sensitisation on tax and tax-related matters.
While cautioning that VAIDS certificate is not an equivalent of tax clearance certificate, Mr Fowler disclosed that some hidden features have been engraved to make it fake and counterfeit-proof.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The United Kingdom via the British High Commission in Abuja has launched two flagship economic reform programmes – the Nigeria Economic Stability & Transformation (NEST) programme and the Nigeria Public Finance Facility (NPFF) -as part of efforts to support Nigeria’s economic reform and growth agenda.
Backed by a £12.4 million UK investment, NEST and NPFF sit at the centre of the UK-Nigeria mutual growth partnership and support Nigeria’s efforts to strengthen macroeconomic stability, improve fiscal resilience, and create a more competitive environment for investment and private-sector growth.
Speaking at the launch, Cynthia Rowe, Head of Development Cooperation at the British High Commission in Abuja, said, “These two programmes sit at the heart of our economic development cooperation with Nigeria. They reflect a shared commitment to strengthening the fundamentals that matter most for our stability, confidence, and long-term growth.”
The launch followed the inaugural meeting of the Joint UK-Nigeria Steering Committee, which endorsed the approach of both programmes and confirmed strong alignment between the UK and Nigeria on priority areas for delivery.
Representing the Government of Nigeria, Special Adviser to the President of Nigeria on Finance and the Economy, Mrs Sanyade Okoli, welcomed the collaboration, touting it as crucial to current, critical reforms.
“We welcome the United Kingdom’s support through these new programmes as a strong demonstration of our shared commitment to Nigeria’s economic stability and long-term prosperity. At a time when we are implementing critical reforms to strengthen fiscal resilience, improve macroeconomic stability, and unlock inclusive growth, this partnership will provide valuable technical support. Together, we are laying the foundation for a more resilient economy that delivers sustainable development and improved livelihoods for all Nigerians.”
On his part, Mr Jonny Baxter, British Deputy High Commissioner in Lagos, highlighted the significance of the programmes within the wider UK-Nigeria mutual growth partnership.
“NEST and NPFF are central to our shared approach to strengthening the foundations that underpin long-term economic prosperity. They sit firmly within the UK-Nigeria mutual growth partnership.”
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
A strategic partnership aimed at accelerating the growth, digital capacity, and sustainability of Nigeria’s 40 million Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) has been signed by MTN Nigeria and the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN).
The collaboration will feature joint initiatives focused on digital inclusion, financial access, capacity building, and providing verified information for MSMEs.
With millions of small businesses depending on accurate guidance and easy-to-access support, MTN and SMEDAN say their shared platform will address gaps in communication, misinformation, and access to opportunities.
At the formal signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Thursday, November 27, 2025, in Lagos, the stage was set for the immediate roll-out of tools, content, and resources that will support MSMEs nationwide.
The chief operating officer of MTN Nigeria, Mr Ayham Moussa, reiterated the company’s commitment to supporting Nigeria’s economic development, stating that MSMEs are the lifeline of Nigeria’s economy.
“SMEs are the backbone of the economy and the backbone of employment in Nigeria. We are delighted to power SMEDAN’s platform and provide tools that help MSMEs reach customers, obtain funding, and access wider markets. This collaboration serves both our business and social development objectives,” he stated.
Also, the Chief Enterprise Business Officer of MTN Nigeria, Ms Lynda Saint-Nwafor, described the MoU as a tool to “meet SMEs at the point of their needs,” noting that nano, micro, small, and medium businesses each require different resources to scale.
“Some SMEs need guidance, some need resources; others need opportunities or workforce support. This platform allows them to access whatever they need. We are committed to identifying opportunities across financial inclusion, digital inclusion, and capacity building that help SMEs to scale,” she noted.
Also commenting, the Director General of SMEDAN, Mr Charles Odii, emphasised the significance of the collaboration, noting that the agency cannot meet its mandate without leveraging technology and private-sector expertise.
“We have approximately 40 million MSMEs in Nigeria, and only about 400 SMEDAN staff. We cannot fulfil our mandate without technology, data, and strong partners.
“MTN already has the infrastructure and tools to support MSMEs from payments to identity, hosting, learning, and more. With this partnership, we are confident we can achieve in a short time what would have taken years,” he disclosed.
Mr Odii highlighted that the SMEDAN-MTN collaboration would support businesses across their growth needs, guided by their four-point GROW model – Guidance, Resources, Opportunities, and Workforce Development.
He added that SMEDAN has already created over 100,000 jobs within its two-year administration and expects the partnership to significantly boost job creation, business expansion, and nationwide enterprise modernisation.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited is seeking review of the controversial Capital Gains Tax increase, fearing it will chase away foreign investors from the country’s capital market.
Nigeria’s new tax regime, which takes effect from January 1, 2026, represents one of the most significant changes to Nigeria’s tax system in recent years.
Under the new rules, the flat 10 per cent Capital Gains Tax rate has been replaced by progressive income tax rates ranging from zero to 30 per cent, depending on an investor’s overall income or profit level while large corporate investors will see the top rate reduced to 25 per cent as part of a wider corporate tax reform.
The chief executive of NGX, Mr Jude Chiemeka, said in a Bloomberg interview in Kigali, Rwanda that there should be a “removal of the capital gains tax completely, or perhaps deferring it for five years.”
According to him, Nigeria, having a higher Capital Gains Tax, will make investors redirect asset allocation to frontier markets and “countries that have less tax.”
“From a capital flow perspective, we should be concerned because all these international portfolio managers that invest across frontier markets will certainly go to where the cost of investing is not so burdensome,” the CEO said, as per Bloomberg. “That is really the angle one will look at it from.”
Meanwhile, the policy has been defended by the chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, who noted that the new tax will make investing in the capital market more attractive by reducing risks, promoting fairness, and simplifying compliance.
He noted that the framework allows investors to deduct legitimate costs such as brokerage fees, regulatory charges, realised capital losses, margin interest, and foreign exchange losses directly tied to investments, thereby ensuring that they are not taxed when operating at a loss.
Mr Oyedele also said the reforms introduced a more inclusive approach to taxation by exempting several categories of investors and transactions.
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