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Global Tech, Digital Giants Won’t Escape Tax in Nigeria- FG
Federal government has vowed big technology and digital companies with a significant economic presence in Nigeria, though without physical offices, won’t escape tax payments henceforth.
The government said it would rely on the provisions of the Finance Act 2019 to ensure that they no longer escape such payments.
It noted its decision was in tandem with ongoing international talks in Paris on global standard rules for governments to receive taxes from technology and digital firms with a significant economic presence in foreign countries.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo stated this during an interaction with a delegation from the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), led by Mr Adesina Adedayo, its president, at the Presidential Villa.
Osinbajo’s spokesman, Laolu Akande, made this known in a statement on Sunday in Abuja.
“While the Federal Government will not be raising tax rates at this time, based on the Finance Act 2019, it is already empowered to widen the tax net.
“This includes collecting taxes on the Nigerian income of global tech giants with a significant economic presence here, even if they have not established an office or permanent establishment, and are currently not paying taxes in Nigeria.
“In this regard, Section 4 of the Finance Act 2019, provides that the finance minister, may by order of the president, determine what constitutes the significant economic presence of a company, other than a Nigerian company.
“We have had severe economic downturns, which of course implies that we may not be able to collect taxes with the aggressiveness that would ordinarily be expected.
“I think the most important thing is that we must widen our tax net so that more people who are eligible to pay tax are paying,” Osinbajo said.
Akande siad in the statement that the vice president also noted that several efforts had been made in that regard.
“I am sure you are aware of the initiatives including the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS), which was also an attempt to bring more people into the tax net, including those who have foreign assets.”
According to the vice president, the Federal Government has also recently taken a step with respect to a lot of the technology companies that are not represented in Nigeria, but who do huge volumes of business in the country.
He said that the Finance Act had shown that Nigeria was prepared to ensure that the big technology companies did not escape without their fair share of taxation in Nigeria.
“Many of them do incredible volumes here in Nigeria and in several other parts of the region.
“We have drawn up the regulations and we are prepared to go, and I think that we are at least in a good place to tap into some of the tax resources we can get from some of these companies.
“Besides the Federal Government, a recent Bloomberg news article reported that “Governments around the world are grappling with how to modernise their legal frameworks to account for the global reach of the digital economy, reshaping how policymakers think about issues as varied as monopoly power, taxation and workers’ rights.”
He said that international talks were currently ongoing in Paris on global standard rules for governments to receive taxes from such digital and technology firms with a significant economic presence in foreign countries.
Osinbajo gave further explanations on legal provisions for the subject matter.
“In Nigeria, according to the Finance Act 2019, a company will pay taxes if it transmits, emits or receives signals, sounds, messages, images or data of any kind by cable, radio, electromagnetic systems, or any other electronic or wireless apparatus to Nigeria.
“This in respect of any activity, including electronic commerce, application store, high-frequency trading, electronic data storage, online adverts, participative network platform, online payments and so on, to the extent that the company has significant economic presence in Nigeria and profit can be attributable to such activity.”
He said that the Federal Government had no plans to raise taxes currently in reference to arguments that tax rates were too low, comparing Nigeria to other places in the region where the rates were much higher.
“So we have had to balance all of these issues because clearly, higher tax rates can be a disincentive to businesses and investments.
“In terms of domestic resource mobilisation, we are trying to do the best we can given the present circumstances and I believe that there is room for improvement.
“Actually, under the Finance Act 2019, the Federal Government has reduced taxes for small companies – companies with less than N25 million in annual turnover are charged Zero Company Income Tax, CIT.
“Also CIT for Companies with revenues between N25 million and N100m (described in the Act as “medium-sized” companies) has been reduced from 30 percent to 20 percent.
“Besides, Nigerians making minimum wage income are not to pay tax at all,” he said.
He said that under the 2020 Finance Act, there was also an exemption of small companies from payment of education tax under the Tertiary Education Trust fund (TETFUND), meaning companies with less than N25 million turnover were eligible.
Osinbajo added there was a 50 per cent reduction in minimum tax; from 0.5 per cent to 0.25 per cent for gross turnover for financial years ending between Jan. 1, 2020, and Dec. 31, 2021.
Earlier in his remarks, Adedayo commended the leadership of the vice president in the implementation of key government interventions in the economy.
“We acknowledge your great zeal and commitment to the Nigeria project,” he said.
Adedayo said the visit became necessary given the enormous work the administration had done towards addressing the huge fiscal challenges in the polity, public financing reforms, and sustained efforts towards addressing infrastructure deficit.
In a significant move to safeguard Nigeria from potential fraud, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has led a team of senior lawyers to represent the Federal Government at a Supreme Court hearing over the Petro Union Oil and Gas Limited case.
The development marks the first time the Federal Government was represented at such a high level since the little-known company secured a judgment from the Federal High Court in Abuja for £2.556 billion.
However, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had concluded in its investigation report that Petro Union obtained the judgment by allegedly using a Barclays Bank UK cheque to draw from an account closed five years before it was presented.
The anti-graft agency’s finding led to the ongoing prosecution of the oil company’s directors before the Federal High Court in Lagos.
The directors, Prince Kingsley Okpala, Prince Chidi Okpalaeze, Prince Emmanuel Okpalaeze, and Abayomi Kukoyi (trading as Gladstone Kukoyi & Associates), are facing a 13-count charge of conspiracy, forgery, and fraud before Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke.
Chief Fagbemi’s appearance in the controversial case is particularly notable because it demonstrates the Federal Government’s resolve to fight the March 11, 2014, court order, which directed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Union Bank of Nigeria, the Minister of Finance, and the Attorney-General to jointly pay Petro Union the judgment amount along with 15 per cent interest per annum.
During the March 17, 2025 proceedings, Chief Fagbemi led a team of lawyers, including Mohammed Gazali (SAN), a Director in the Federal Ministry of Justice, and other lawyers representing the Federal Government and its agencies.
Chief Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN) led the legal team for Union Bank, while the CBN’s legal representation was headed by Damian Dodo (SAN) alongside Mrs. Olabisi Soyebo (SAN) and others.
Chief Awomolo argued an application to amend the Notice of Appeal by adding eight additional Grounds of Appeal.
While the AGF and the CBN’s lawyers supported the motion, Petro Union’s legal team opposed it.
After listening to arguments on the matter from the lawyers, the Supreme Court reserved its ruling for a later date to be communicated to the parties.
The judgment sum against the Federal Government, CBN, and Union Bank now stands at over £15 billion, including interest—exceeding 50% of Nigeria’s foreign reserves.
Legal experts have compared this situation to the infamous $10 billion Process and Industrial Development (P&ID) case.
The troubling events leading to this judgment began in 1994 when Petro Union allegedly fraudulently obtained a cheque worth £2.556 billion from a Barclays Bank branch in the UK.
The company presented this cheque at a Union Bank branch in Lagos, claiming it was for a contract related to refinery construction and the establishment of a bank.
Subsequent investigations by the CBN and Union Bank unveiled that the cheque, dated December 29, 1994, and drawn in favour of Gladstone Kukoyi & Associates, was confirmed by Barclays Bank to be counterfeit.
Barclays Bank had also indicated that Gazeaft Limited, the issuer of the bill of exchange, did not have an account with them and was not listed as a registered company in the UK.
Despite these findings, Petro Union and its agents persisted in their claims that Union Bank had received £2,556,000,000.00 on their behalf and had transferred £2,159,221,318.54 to the CBN while retaining £396,778,681.46. This led to court actions against the CBN and Union Bank based on these dubious claims.
In a concerning development, Petro Union managed to secure a judgment by presenting an alleged statement of account from the CBN, neglecting the fact that a Central Bank serves as a banker to the government and banks, not to individual companies or persons.
Following these proceedings, both the CBN and Union Bank filed appeals to overturn the judgment, particularly as evidence of fraudulent motives began to emerge during the ongoing criminal prosecution of Petro Union and its executives at the Federal High Court in Lagos.
Additionally, information already presented to the Supreme Court suggests that Petro Union may have obtained the judgments at lower courts by allegedly providing evidence that appears to be based on falsehoods, forgery, misrepresentation of facts, and concealment.
Given Nigeria’s increasing debt profile, many observers are alarmed by the prospect of this additional £15 billion ‘debt’ looming over the nation. They are looking to the Supreme Court to deliver justice in this complex matter.
President Bola Tinubu has congratulated Dr Fene Osakwe on winning the Cyber Personality of the Year award at the 2025 Cyber Security Awards in the UK.
Dr Fene Osakwe
According to Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to the President in a statement, Dr Osakwe is the chairman of the Lagos State Cybersecurity Advisory Board and the first African to win in the Cyber Security Awards category.
He was recognised for his exceptional leadership, advocacy, and expertise in cybersecurity and data privacy, clinching the prize ahead of other finalists from the United States, the UAE, Qatar, the Netherlands, and the UK.
President Tinubu celebrates Dr Osakwe’s achievements, underscoring his immense contributions to cybersecurity and his efforts to evolve new horizons in the field.
The President described the 2025 Cyber Personality of the Year as an exceptional Nigerian and a worthy representation of Nigeria’s talented, innovative, and pace-setting youth.
While extolling the youth as Nigeria’s greatest asset, President Tinubu stated that Dr Osakwe’s nomination and subsequent win foreground the global impact of young African professionals in cybersecurity.
The President wished Dr Osakwe more success in his endeavours.
Insight Publicis, one of Nigeria’s leading integrated marketing communications agencies, has announced its decision to resign from the Airtel Nigeria account, effective immediately.
This decision follows an extensive evaluation of the engagement, during which both parties were unable to reach an agreement on terms that appropriately reflect the scope of work and the value Insight Publicis brings to the partnership.
While both organizations hold each other in high regard, the agency remains committed to engagements that align with its strategic priorities and industry benchmarks.
Speaking on this, Dolapo Ogunbambo, chief operating officer of Insight Publicis, said “Our commitment to excellence necessitates that we engage in partnerships where there is mutual alignment on value creation and strategic objectives.
“We have valued our association with Airtel Nigeria and wish them continued success in their future endeavors.”
Insight Publicis will ensure a seamless transition and remains focused on delivering exceptional marketing solutions to its diverse clientele across various industries. She said.
Founded in 1979, Insight Publicis is a pioneer in Nigeria’s marketing communications landscape, offering a full suite of services, including brand strategy, multimedia creative solutions, digital marketing, and consultancy. As part of the global Publicis Groupe, Insight Publicis combines deep local expertise with international insights to drive impactful brand storytelling and business growth.
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