Taiwo Oyedele, Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, has assured Nigerians that the newly approved tax reforms will not result in automatic deductions from personal bank accounts.
Speaking on Channels Television’s end-of-year programme, Oyedele said no tax authority anywhere in the world has the capacity to monitor or debit every bank account holder. He explained that tax enforcement typically targets high-income earners, not low-income individuals.
“Nobody will debit your account. Whether you transfer ₦1 billion or ₦1,000, it doesn’t matter. Nobody will debit your bank account,” he said.
Oyedele attributed public anxiety over alleged bank debits to misinformation, noting that many of those opposing the reforms are not within the income bracket affected by the policy.
“The people fighting us the most are those who don’t even have ₦1 million in their bank accounts,” he said, citing Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation data showing that about 98 percent of bank account holders have savings below ₦500,000.
He added that the reform team underestimated how wealthy individuals could influence public opinion by mobilising ordinary Nigerians to resist policies that mainly impact high earners.
“We underestimated how these people could manipulate average citizens to fight on their behalf, even against their own interests,” Oyedele said, alleging that some high-earning content creators spread false information to avoid paying taxes.
According to him, the revamped tax system is based on self-declaration, requiring individuals to disclose their income annually and pay the appropriate taxes. Those exempt from taxation, he said, would only need to declare their status, as the process has been simplified to boost compliance.
Oyedele’s remarks came after President Bola Tinubu confirmed that implementation of the new tax laws would proceed as planned, despite public concerns over alleged post-legislative changes.
The president said there was no compelling reason to suspend the reforms, describing them as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build a fair, competitive, and resilient fiscal system. He stressed that the reforms are not intended to increase taxes but to create a more equitable framework for revenue generation.
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