ABUJA, Nigeria — The Nigerian Senate has approved all four of President Bola Tinubu’s proposed tax reform bills, completing a two-day legislative process that saw the upper chamber debate and vote on each bill in detail.
On Wednesday, May 7, 2025, senators passed the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Bill, following a clause-by-clause review conducted at the Committee of the Whole.
The proceedings were based on a report submitted by an ad hoc committee chaired by Senator Sani Musa, representing Niger East.
“These bills will add immense value to governance and transform how taxes are collected and distributed in Nigeria,” Senate President Godswill Akpabio said after the passage of the bills via voice vote.
Akpabio assured the chamber that the remaining bills would be concluded by Thursday, “even if we have to remain here until 10 pm,” signalling a determination to fast-track President Tinubu’s tax reform agenda.
True to that commitment, the Senate reconvened on Thursday, May 8, 2025, and passed the final two bills — the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill and the Nigeria Tax Bill 2024.
Like the earlier ones, they were debated in full at the Committee of the Whole and supported by a majority voice vote.
Mr. Akpabio later announced that a harmonisation committee would be established to reconcile the Senate’s versions of the bills with those already passed by the House of Representatives.
The harmonised versions are expected to be transmitted to President Tinubu for assent.
In a related decision during Wednesday’s session, the Senate rejected a proposal to raise the Value Added Tax (VAT) rate from 7.5 per cent to 10 per cent, choosing instead to retain the existing rate.
