Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, has declared that he is ready to pay the ultimate price for Nigeria’s future, following threats against him over the Nigeria Tax Administration Act (NTAA), 2025.
Oyedele spoke at the Cowry Quarterly Economic Discourse held at the Capital Club, Lagos, themed, ‘Nigeria in 2026: Will Politics Trump Economic Reform?’, where he defended the new tax law and explained key aspects of Nigeria’s capital gains tax framework.
He clarified that the law already grants automatic exemptions to individuals whose total proceeds from asset disposal do not exceed N150 million, provided the gains are not more than N10 million within a 12-month period.
“The law says everyone is entitled to an exemption on capital gains tax. If the proceeds are not more than N150 million and the gain is not more than ₦10 million in 12 months, the exemption is automatic; no explanation, no conditions attached,” Oyedele said.
He added that pension fund administrators and real estate investment trusts also enjoy exemptions, subject to reinvestment, stressing that the reform is structured to promote long-term investment and market growth. According to him, high-net-worth individuals only become liable to capital gains tax when they permanently exit investments without reinvesting.
“This reform cannot fail; we don’t have a scenario for when it fails but how to make it better. President Bola Tinubu is taking the political risk while I am taking the other risk, including from people who are looking for my address to beat up my family. After all, there are Nigerian soldiers who died while protecting the country. I can’t die for Nigeria as a soldier, maybe I should die for Nigeria as a reformer. Mr. President is committed to the reform while those who do not want the reform are cooking up lies. They started fighting it as at the time we were drafting the bill,” he said.
Responding to allegations of forgery and alteration, Oyedele dismissed the claims as a calculated attempt to sabotage the reform.
“They hanged on to alteration and Nigerians were calling for the suspension of the law innocently while the people who started the conspiracy have a different motive. So, we were not moved and we asked them to point out the alteration when they find it. Nigerians have made the sacrifices from fuel subsidy removal, electricity subsidy removal, naira floatation and a lot of pain and sacrifice. The tax reform is coming in the middle of those reforms to help us accelerate on how we transform those outcomes into our micro reality.”
Also speaking, Director General of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Chinyere Almona, said businesses are still under pressure despite optimism about 2026.
“Businesses are struggling because of the cost of power, which affects every other thing. We don’t have the right infrastructure in place; so businesses can’t operate to their best capacities.
The Nigeria infrastructure stock today is about 30 per cent of the GDP while the World Bank expects that emerging economy should be about 60-70 per cent and developed countries should be about 80 per cent and above but we are only 30 per cent; which means businesses will have to self-provide for things the state should provide,” Almona stated.
GMD of Cowry Asset Management Limited, Johnson Chukwu, also warned that economic reforms must reflect in people’s daily lives.
“There’s an increase in government revenue. So, the key thing we should look into is how do we drive improved household consumption? For this reform to be sustained, people must see improvement of their conditions.”
