•Only officially gazetted Acts carry legal authority, says NRS
The Federal Government has reassured Nigerians, particularly students and parents, that the implementation of the new tax reform law will not lead to a hike in tuition fees by tertiary institutions.
This is coming just as the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) endorsed the new tax reform law and called off its proposed nationwide protest earlier scheduled for January 14, 2026, against the implementation of the law.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) has clarified that only officially gazetted Acts of the National Assembly carry legal authority and are binding on taxpayers and revenue administrators, dismissing claims that the country’s newly enacted tax reform laws were altered after passage.
Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reform, Taiwo Oyedele, allayed fears expressed by students at the NANS Expanded National Executive Council (ENEC) meeting and stakeholders’ engagement forum, yesterday, in Abuja, that the new law would lead to a possible hike in school fees at tertiary institutions.
The tax czar highlighted significant provisions of the tax law that would directly benefit students and low-income earners in the country, stating that the law aims to make more money available to state governments for investment in education and infrastructure development.
The Executive Chairman of NRS, Zacch Adedeji, stated during a television interview monitored in Abuja that “NRS is not branding; it is a total institutional upgrade, moving from fragmented revenue administration to a modern, digitalised, centralised and intelligence-driven system.”
The provisions of the recently enacted tax reform laws changed the nomenclature of the country’s apex tax authority from Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to NRS.
He said under the new framework, multiple tax and revenue-related functions previously spread across agencies had been consolidated, with a stronger emphasis on data integration, automation and reduced human discretion. He dismissed allegations that the country’s newly enacted tax reform laws were altered after passage by the National Assembly.
“Only the officially gazetted Acts carry legal authority and are binding on taxpayers and administrators,” he said.
The NRS boss said an Act of the National Assembly only becomes effective after Presidential assent and official gazetting, with the gazetted version constituting the authoritative text in the event of disputes.
However, reading the communiqué from the maiden NANS ENEC meeting, NANS National President Olushola Oladoja stated that the decision to back down on the protest followed a satisfactory response from relevant government authorities regarding the importance of the law.
According to him, the new Tax Reform Law is a deliberate and well-intentioned law aimed at improving Nigeria’s economy, strengthening institutional frameworks for revenue generation, with deliberate provisions to protect low-income earners and vulnerable citizens.
The NANS President explained that the law does not target the poor but rather strengthens social protection, ensuring that higher-income earners contribute more equitably to national revenue and preventing lopsidedness and unnecessary tax burdens on a few.
The Guardian reports that members of the ENEC are drawn from NANS National Executive Council as well as Presidents and Senate Presidents of National Association of University Students (NAUS), National Association of Polytechnic Students (NAPS), National Association of Colleges of Education Students (NANCES), NANS Zonal Coordinators across the six geopolitical zones of the Federation, Joint Campus Council (JCC) Chairmen across the Federation among others.
Last week, NANS called for the suspension of the tax laws, saying it would embark on a peaceful mass protest on January 14 and march to the Presidential Villa gate in Abuja.
The students’ body had accused the Federal Government of ignoring public concerns and constitutional processes.
