The tax reform policies will attract local and foreign investments, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu assured yesterday.
He said the reforms are fashioned to simplify tax regulations, offer incentives and ensure a more transparent and predictable fiscal framework.
They are tailored to phase out barriers to entry and support business growth, he said.
President Tinubu, represented by Minister of State for Finance, Dr. Doris Aniete, spoke at the 2025 Nigerian International Energy Summit (NIES) in Abuja.
He said: ‘We are currently implementing a series of comprehensive reforms in our fiscal and tax policies.
‘These reforms are designed to create a more business-friendly environment and attract both local and international investments by simplifying our tax regulations, offering incentives and ensuring a more transparent and predictable fiscal framework.
‘We aim to remove barriers to entry and support the growth of businesses in Nigeria.
‘These measures will not only make it easier for companies to invest and operate in our country but also stimulate economic development, create jobs and enhance overall prosperity for our nation’.
The theme of the summit is: ‘Bridging continents: connecting investors worldwide with Africa’s energy potential’.
Also yesterday, the Senate said the Tax Reforms Bills will facilitate the $1 trillion economy.
Chairman of the Committee on Finance, Senator Sani Musa, said the panel would embark on a three-day retreat to distil the memoranda presented to it by stakeholders.
On when the Bills will be passed, Musa said: ‘We are going to work assiduously to consider every submission, every memorandum.
‘We are going to review everything at a three-day retreat, during which we will consult with experts.
‘We are consulting also with the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation so that we see how we can present a workable law that will not conflict with the Constitution.
‘Mr. President has said that he wants to see Nigeria having a $1 trillion economy and this is the beginning of it’.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Sports, Senator Abdul Ningi, said the Bills have assumed a ‘national dimension’.
Ningi, who earlier opposed the Bills, said his reservations were based on the fact that the necessary consultations had not been done.
Ningi said: ‘There were a lot of reservations as to the hasty manner in which a very important bill like tax reform was being pushed.
‘Remember that tax is a global phenomenon and it is a campaign issue all across the developed countries.
‘My position then was, “If that is so, why wouldn’t you just take time, consult more and negotiate more and at the end of the day we have a tax reform?”’
‘However, over the last few weeks, you could see that the tax reform bills have drastically been changed to a tax reform that Nigeria needs.
‘Tax reform has taken a national dimension’.
Why IOCs can’t leave Nigeria, by Lokpobri
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil) Senator Heineken Lokpobiri said the International Oil Companies (IOCs) are not leaving Nigeria.
Speaking at the NIES, he said: ‘Nigeria is an investment destination. No IOC is leaving Nigeria. All the IOCs cannot find a better destination than Nigeria.
‘They confirmed to me they are not leaving Nigeria but are leaving for the deep offshore’.
He said out of the four Final Investment Decisions (FIDs) taken in the African oil and gas industry, three were in Nigeria, with $20 billion in investments expected.
Lokpobiri announced that the African Energy Bank with its Headquarters in Nigeria will begin operations in the first quarter of 2025.
