The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative has recommended that the yet-to-commence Nigeria Tax Act 2025 should be reviewed after five years or more to reflect evolving fiscal realities and strengthen institutional oversight of extractive revenues.
In its long-term recommendations on the implementation of the tax reforms, NEITI said a future review of the law would allow the government to assess gaps, align the unified tax system with global transparency standards, and formally accommodate expanded oversight roles, particularly in the monitoring, verification, and reconciliation of oil, gas, and solid minerals revenues under the new fiscal framework.
“Over the next three to five years, Nigeria should review and amend the NEITI Act to align with global standards and formally institutionalise the agency’s expanded oversight role as a permanent fiscal accountability partner to the Nigeria Revenue Service under the unified tax system,” the agency stated this in a policy brief titled “Beyond Assent: Pathways for Implementing Nigeria’s New Tax and Revenue Framework,” obtained by our correspondent on Friday.
It was unveiled at a two-day advocacy dialogue on Nigeria’s 2026 EITI Validation in Abuja, where stakeholders, civil society groups, and the government were reminded that oil, gas, and mining remain the backbone of Nigeria’s revenue mobilisation and long-term development plans, despite longstanding governance challenges.
The intervention comes amid the rollout of the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025, which establishes a unified national tax system and creates the Nigeria Revenue Service as the central tax authority, replacing legacy structures and consolidating revenue collection across sectors, including oil, gas, and solid minerals.
Recall that on June 26, 2025, President Bola Tinubu signed four major tax reform bills into law, creating the most significant overhaul of Nigeria’s tax system in decades.
The new legislation includes the Nigeria Tax Act, Nigeria Tax Administration Act, Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Act, under a single authority known as the Nigeria Revenue Service. The reforms aim to simplify tax compliance, expand the tax base, remove overlapping taxes, and modernise revenue collection across federal, state, and local levels.
The law officially takes effect on January 1, 2026, after a six-month transition period for public education and system alignment. In the policy brief, the agency urged the government to embed transparency, global standards, and strong legal safeguards into the implementation of the country’s newly enacted tax reforms.
NEITI warned that without clear institutional roles, enforceable transparency triggers, and inclusive implementation, the ambitious tax reforms could be weakened in practice.
According to the agency, “the passage of a unified tax law, while commendable, is only the first step. Without deliberate safeguards for transparency, data traceability and independent oversight, the reform risks centralising revenue administration without strengthening accountability, particularly in the extractive sector where the stakes are highest.”
It stressed that while the reform aims to boost domestic revenue mobilisation, efficiency, and fiscal discipline, it must not dilute accountability in the extractive sector, which remains Nigeria’s largest source of public revenue.
“A modern tax system should not only collect more revenue; it must also be able to explain, trace, and account for every naira collected from Nigeria’s natural resources,” the agency stated.
In its short-term recommendations covering the next 12 months, NEITI urged the government to introduce immediate legal and regulatory safeguards to protect sectoral transparency.
It proposed regulations mandating the NRS to publish disaggregated data on extractive revenues, in line with the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative Standard. The agency also called for compulsory annual disclosure of tax waivers, exemptions, and fiscal incentives granted to companies, particularly in oil, gas, and mining.
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