News
Tax Ombudsman is to Protect Businesses from Harassment—Oyedele
Taiwo Oyedele, chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, has said that the creation of a new office of the Tax Ombudsman (OTO) is to protect businesses from harassment.
Dr. John Nwabueze, Nigeria’s tax ombudsman
Oyedele, who spoke Sat the 24th Annual Conference of the Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ) held in Lagos, said that the Tax Ombudsman, will serve as an independent body to mediate disputes and safeguard the rights of taxpayers.
“If anybody shows up to harass you, to collect tax, or to seal up your premises, you can call the Tax Ombudsman. They have the legal authority and obligation to protect your rights,” he stated.
Oyedele said that the new tax regime will favour compliant and formalised enterprises while protecting small and informal businesses from undue pressure and harassment by tax officials.
He said that the ongoing reforms are people-centred and designed to reward compliance, promote fairness, and support economic growth rather than overburden citizens or businesses.
During a panel session themed “The New Tax Law and You,” Oyedele urged entrepreneurs, especially small business owners, to formalise their operations to benefit from a range of incentives embedded in the new tax framework taking effect from January 2026.
“We started the tax and fiscal reform by looking at how people do business, how those businesses grow, and how finance is placed,” he explained. “You can’t knock on the door and say, ‘Tax me.’ Let’s have a conversation on how to create a business that can pay corporate tax. So, the reforms are people-centric.”
According to Oyedele, small companies with an annual turnover of ₦100m or less will enjoy a zero per cent corporate tax rate, in line with the government’s goal of allowing small businesses to expand before being taxed.
“If you run a small company where your annual turnover is ₦100m or less, your corporate tax rate will be zero per cent. What is even more interesting is that the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) will register 250,000 small companies free of charge,” he disclosed.
He also revealed that the reforms would ensure fairness in value-added tax (VAT) administration, adding that critical sectors such as food, water, education, pharmaceuticals, and medical services will be fully exempted from VAT from next year.
“From next year, January 1, this bottle of water will be zero-rated for VAT. The same explanation applies to food, education, pharmaceutical, and medical services,” he said.
Oyedele explained that the government’s decision to exempt essential goods and services from VAT was informed by data showing that low-income Nigerian households spend nearly 80 per cent of their income on food, health, rent, education, and transportation.
“If people spend their entire income on five basic items, food, education, health, rent, and transport, then we must remove the taxes on those,” he noted.
EFCC
The African Development Bank Group last week approved an investment of €6.5 million in the Saviu II fund in order to support technology start-ups through their seed phase and first institutional fundraising, mainly in French-speaking Central and West Africa.
The Bank will invest €4.5 million as equity and €2 million as a first-loss hedging tranche on behalf of the European Commission, under the Boost Africa Programme.
This participation of the Bank Group will enable the Saviu II fund to give priority to companies with a strong technological or digital component.
Saviu II, the second investment vehicle of Saviu Partners, plans to invest between €500,000 and €3 million in about 20 technology or technology-oriented business-to-business start-ups in the seed phase or carrying out first institutional fundraising.
The Saviu II venture capital fund aims to make at least 60% of its commitments in the French-speaking countries of West and Central Africa: Côte d ‘Ivoire, Cameroon, Benin, Senegal, Togo, Burkina Faso and Mali.
The fund can also co-invest in promising technology companies in East Africa that have a strong team and business model, and whose strategy includes entering the market in French-speaking West African countries and establishing a strong presence there.
In addition, the fund will devote a dedicated envelope to pre-seed investments, focusing on minority equity investments, usually in co-investment with studios, incubators or other ecosystem partners.
Nigerian Government has signed a $1.3 billion Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) via the Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF) to fund an alumina refinery, national geoscience mapping, and a strategic investment vehicle for mining growth.
Special Assistant to the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Segun Tomori, said the refinery will process one million tonnes of bauxite yearly using a modern Bayer process, powered by an on-site gas-fired cogeneration plant.
Minister Dele Alake called it a transformative milestone boosting GDP, aligning with reforms that improve investment climate, regulations, and licensing to attract private capital. He directed agencies to fast-track permits.
The 20-year project at 95% utilization eyes 19 million tonnes total output, $1.2 billion annual GDP addition, $25 billion economic impact, and $8 billion forex earnings, per feasibility studies.
SMDF Executive Secretary Fatima Shinkafi termed it the agency’s biggest funding deal, supporting value-addition policy.
The partnership extends to geoscience mapping for mineral data, de-risking exploration, and a joint vehicle for mining assets.
Permanent Secretary Engr. Farouk Yabo praised the reforms. Shinkafi signed for government; AFC’s Franklin Edochie for the corporation, witnessed by AFC CEO Samaila Zubairu.
Tomori positioned it as Nigeria’s largest private mining investment and FDI magnet.
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