The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has begun mobilisation of students nationwide to protest against the implementation of the tax laws that take effect today, January 1, 2026 as planned.
It declared January 14, 2026 as a National Day of Action against the implementation of the controversial Tax Reform Law.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Tuesday said “No substantial issue has been established that warrants a disruption of the reform process” amid calls for the suspension of the implementation of the tax laws.
The tax laws reform had generated controversies over allegations that the gazetted copies differ from the versions passed by the National Assembly.
Stakeholders including the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the minority caucus of the House of Representatives, among others, had called for the suspension of the implementation.
A member of the House of Representatives, Abdussamad Dasuki, had alleged that there were discrepancies between the versions of the tax bills passed by lawmakers and the copies gazetted.
Reacting to the government’s decision to kick off the implemtation of the new tax regime today, NANS President Olushola Oladoja, in a statement, faulted the implementation of the new law from January 1, 2026 when a lot of issues in the gazetted law were yet to be resolved.
He said the decision to proceed with implementing the Tax Reform Laws from today “is not only unfortunate but a dangerous precedent for a government that claims commitment to participatory reforms and democratic values.
“The statement released by the Presidency, reaffirming that implementation will proceed as planned from 1st January, stands as a grave insult to Nigerians, who are the true sovereigns in a democracy, who trusted and voted for the President. To observe that the process for engaging citizens over the Tax Reform Law is not democratic reflects hegemony, high-handedness, and outright disregard for citizens, especially ordinary Nigerians.
“As the NANS President, I, therefore, call on all NANS structures – campus chapters, state joints, zonal coordinators, and the national secretariat – to commence immediate massive mobilisation for a peaceful mass protest and march to the Presidential Villa Gate in Abuja on the said date. The convergence point shall be Unity Fountain, Abuja. Further operational details will be communicated in due course.
“Our demands remain clear, non-negotiable, and just: Immediate suspension of the implementation of the otherwise beautiful but deeply controversial Tax Reform Law.”
Meanwhile ,human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), yesterday warned that the new tax laws cannot take effect until controversies surrounding the legitimacy of their provisions are resolved.
Addressing journalists at his Ilawe-Ekiti hometown in Ekiti State on Wednesday, Falana said the government ought to have used the closing days of 2025 to address the concerns and produced clean copies of the laws before the commencement date.
He warned that failure to do so could trigger legal challenges from interest groups questioning the laws’ legitimacy.
He said: “There are questions about the authentic tax laws—so which laws are we talking about? Until we have clean copies, you cannot talk of commencement,” adding that allegations of inserted provisions amounted to forgery, for which the National Assembly bore responsibility.
Falana also faulted the lack of transparency, describing it as unacceptable that bills passed and signed into law were not readily accessible on the National Assembly’s website.
He threatened legal action over what he termed discriminatory provisions that exempted some wealthy companies—particularly those operating in Free Trade Zones (FTZ)—from taxes and duties.
He described such exemptions as unjust, illegal and inconsistent with the constitution, insisting that progressive taxation required the rich to pay more, not less.
