FACT CHECK: How true is the claim by Nigerian lawmaker that tax laws would require citizens to pay 25% of earnings?

Ireti Kingibe, the senator for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has claimed that Nigeria’s new tax laws require every citizen to pay 25 per cent of their earnings as tax, adding that the government has yet to implement the provision because it fears criticism from Nigerians.

Mrs Kingibe, a member of the opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC), made the claim while addressing her supporters at a gathering in Abuja. The date of the event could not be independently established, but a video of her remarks, delivered in pidgin English, has gone viral on social media.

She urged her supporters to vote against the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) at all levels, arguing that the government’s policies have worsened the hardship faced by Nigerians.

Among the policies she criticised were the four tax reform laws passed by the National Assembly and signed into law by President Bola Tinubu, as well as increases in electricity tariffs.

Speaking on the tax laws, Mrs Kingibe, who is seeking re-election, claimed that they contain a provision requiring Nigerians to pay 25 per cent of their earnings to the government. She further said that although the National Assembly had passed the laws and the president had assented to them, implementation had not begun because the government feared public backlash.

“This is our country, and we must take it back. They will not do it for us. We are the ones who must do it. If we are not happy with the state of the country, we are the ones who must change it. Nobody else can do it for us. We must stand up and say enough is enough. We we have had enough.

“How do you expect people to cope? You increased electricity tariffs, but what have you done with the money? Nothing. Now, you want to increase taxes to 25 per cent of everything people earn, when what they currently earn is not even enough to meet their needs.

“And all these things I have told you about have already been passed into law by the National Assembly. It is only fear that has prevented them from implementing them,” she said.

Mrs Kingibe, who was originally elected into the Senate on the Labour Party ticket, warned her supporters against voting for the ruling party, saying that Nigerians would face more hardship if the APC remained in power.

“If you make the mistake of allowing them to continue, the kind of suffering you will experience is something you have not even begun to imagine.

“We have endured 12 or 16 years of the APC, and we have not enjoyed its government. The time to change it has come. Just as we changed the PDP when it began to make life difficult for us, the time has come to change the APC,” she stated.

Checking the claim

To verify the claim, PREMIUM TIMES examined the Nigeria Tax Act, 2025, particularly Section 58, which provides for the personal income tax rates applicable to individuals, subject to the statutory exception for individuals earning the national minimum wage.

The Nigeria Tax Act and its three companion tax reform laws were passed by the National Assembly in June 2025, gazetted in September 2025 and commenced on 1 January 2026.

Section 58 states: “The income tax payable on the chargeable income of an individual, other than an individual earning the Minimum Wage in line with the Minimum Wage Act, in respect of each year of assessment, shall be as specified in the Fourth Schedule to this Act.”

This provision does not impose a flat 25 per cent tax on every Nigerian’s entire earnings. Instead, it refers to the progressive rates specified in the Act’s Fourth Schedule, which apply to chargeable income.

Under the schedule, the first N800,000 of annual chargeable income is taxed at zero per cent. The next N2.2 million attracts 15 per cent, the next N9 million attracts 18 per cent, and the next N13 million attracts 21 per cent. The next N25 million is taxed at 23 per cent, while any amount above N50 million attracts 25 per cent.

The 25 per cent rate is therefore the highest personal income tax rate, not a flat rate imposed on everyone’s entire earnings. The progressive system means that different portions of an individual’s chargeable income are taxed at the rates applicable to the respective bands.

For example, a person with N1 million in annual chargeable income would pay no tax on the first N800,000, while the remaining N200,000 would be taxed at 15 per cent. The resulting tax liability would be N30,000, assuming the N1 million represents chargeable income after applicable deductions and reliefs.

The actual tax payable depends on an individual’s chargeable income and the deductions, reliefs and exemptions for which they qualify under the law.

The Act also provides for exemptions relating to minimum-wage earners. Section 58 excludes individuals earning the national minimum wage from the progressive rates specified in the Fourth Schedule, while Section 162 provides an exemption for employment income where an employee’s gross income does not exceed the national minimum wage.

Other eligible deductions may also reduce chargeable income. These include qualifying pension contributions and rent relief of 20 per cent of annual rent paid, capped at N500,000, subject to the conditions set out in the law.

Senator insists on claim

PREMIUM TIMES contacted Mrs Kingibe to verify the viral video and seek clarification on her remarks, particularly her claim about the tax laws.

She acknowledged telling her supporters that the laws require Nigerians to pay 25 per cent of their income as tax and insisted that the provision was contained in the legislation.

The senator also confirmed that she had said implementation had not begun because the government was afraid of criticism ahead of the 2027 general elections.

“The tax documents. The tax reform bill is a public document, everybody can read it. It is not like I disclose a secret. It’s a public document. We have passed it, it is true. It has not been implemented yet, that is also true because I think maybe they’re afraid to implement it before the general election,” she told PREMIUM TIMES.

However, the laws commenced on 1 January 2026, contrary to her claim that implementation had yet to begin.

Tax expert’s comments

To clarify the provisions of the law, PREMIUM TIMES contacted Okey Udo, a fellow and chartered tax practitioner at Vog Global Consult and a member of the education committee of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN).

Mr Udo said the senator’s claim was either based on a misunderstanding of the legislation or politically motivated.

“It is politically guided and ignorantly expressed. The assertion collapses on chronology and content. A statute that has been operating for 10 months cannot be one the government is ‘afraid to implement until after the elections,” he said.

He also rejected the lawmaker’s claim that every Nigerian is required to pay 25 per cent of their earnings as tax.

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“The ‘25 per cent of every Nigerian’s earnings’ figure is equally false. The Act taxes the first N800,000 of taxable annual income after deducting relevant relief at 0 per cent, applies a progressive schedule thereafter, and reaches 25 per cent only on income above N50 million, a one-point rise on the old 24 per cent ceiling that affects a tiny fraction of earners while individuals earning up to N20 million annually see reduced PAYE liabilities.

“The 25 per cent that Taiwo Oyedele has publicly spoken about as a future possibility is something else entirely: the Act allows corporate income tax to be brought down from 30 per cent to 25 per cent as the tax base widens and the economy stabilises, a relief for companies, not a levy on individuals.

“The graphic conflates a prospective corporate rate cut with a non-existent flat personal tax, misspells the Senator’s name, cites no date, venue or Senate record, and frames the matter in campaign language. It is a social-media card, not a legislative fact, and nothing in the Act, the gazette or the Hansard supports it,” he said.

Verdict

The claim that Nigeria’s tax laws require every citizen to pay 25 per cent of their earnings as tax is false.

The Nigeria Tax Act, 2025, provides for progressive personal income tax rates, with 25 per cent applying only to the portion of annual chargeable income exceeding N50 million. It does not impose a flat 25 per cent tax on every Nigerian’s entire earnings.

The law also provides for exemptions and deductions, including provisions relating to minimum-wage earners and eligible reliefs. Consequently, an individual’s tax liability depends on their chargeable income and the applicable statutory provisions.

The tax laws commenced on 1 January 2026. The senator’s claim that the government has yet to implement them because it fears public criticism ahead of the 2027 elections is therefore inconsistent with the stated commencement date of the legislation.

Mrs Kingibe, a member of the 10th Senate that passed the tax reform legislation, has maintained that the laws require Nigerians to pay 25 per cent of their earnings. However, the relevant provisions of the Act do not support her claim.