The Senate has rejected claims by the senator representing the Federal Capital Territory, Ireti Kingibe, that Nigerians would be subjected to a 25 per cent personal income tax on their earnings if the All Progressives Congress retains power in the 2027 general elections.
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Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Yemi Adaramodu, said the tax legislation had already been passed by the National Assembly and assented to by President Bola Tinubu, stressing that public discussion of its provisions should be based on what is contained in the law.
His reaction followed a video circulating on social media in which Kingibe warned her constituents that Nigerians could face a 25 per cent tax on their earnings after the 2027 elections.
Kingibe, who is seeking re-election on the platform of the African Democratic Congress, alleged that the National Assembly had already approved the tax provision but that the government was reluctant to fully implement it because of possible public reaction ahead of the elections.
“This is our country; we must claim it back. Nobody will do it for us. We are the ones to do it. As the country is not enjoyable for us, no one will change it except us. We must be the ones to stand up and say that enough is enough. We have had enough,” she said.
She also criticised increases in electricity costs and other government policies before making the tax claim.
“Tax will soon be increased to 25 per cent of everything you earn. The money you currently have is not even enough for you. And what I am telling you, it has been passed. We have passed it in the National Assembly, but they are scared to implement it.
“As soon as you make the mistake, the amount of suffering you would endure, you haven’t even started to imagine it,” Kingibe said.
Adaramodu, however, dismissed the claim, insisting that the content of the tax law is already publicly available and that no provision outside the enacted legislation could be presented as part of the reform.
“Already, the tax law has been passed, and then it has become a public document,” he said.
“So, whatever is not in the tax law that is passed has never been included. Whatever is there is what has been passed by the National Assembly and assented to by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
The Senate spokesman described attempts to introduce claims outside the provisions of the enacted law as revisionist.
“So, anybody bringing anything back from the tax reform or law is just becoming a revisionist. It’s only a revisionist that could still be talking about that,” he said.
Adaramodu also rejected suggestions that Kingibe’s position as senator representing the FCT conferred any special leadership status within the Senate.
“Point of correction, Senator Kingibe is not the presiding officer. She is just a senator of the FCT,” he said.
He maintained that the Senate would not engage in a political exchange over legislation that had already passed through the National Assembly and received presidential assent.
According to him, any senator dissatisfied with provisions of an existing law could formally seek its amendment through the established legislative process.
“If any senator feels so nibbled by whatever law we have passed and has been assented to, he or she can come to the floor of the Senate and raise a motion or send a petition.
“We cannot be reacting to somebody passing a political comment. So, we cannot be reacting to that,” Adaramodu said.
The Nigeria Tax Act, 2025, however, does not impose a flat 25 per cent personal income tax on everything earned by Nigerians.
Instead, the legislation establishes a progressive personal income tax structure under which different portions of taxable income are subject to different rates.
Under the Fourth Schedule to the Act, the first ₦800,000 of annual taxable income attracts a zero per cent rate.
Other income bands are taxed progressively at rates ranging from 15 per cent to 23 per cent, while the 25 per cent rate applies only to the portion of annual taxable income exceeding ₦50 million.
This means that a person whose taxable income exceeds ₦50 million is not charged 25 per cent on all earnings; rather, the highest rate applies to the portion falling within that top income band.
The legislation also took effect on January 1, 2026, following transition guidelines issued by the Federal Government, contrary to the suggestion that implementation of the tax regime had been postponed until after the 2027 general elections.
The disagreement between Kingibe and the Senate spokesman comes amid continuing public debate over the Federal Government’s tax reforms, which the administration has presented as part of efforts to restructure Nigeria’s tax administration and revenue system.
While Kingibe has framed the tax reforms as part of wider economic pressures facing Nigerians, the Senate maintains that claims about the legislation should be measured against the provisions of the law already in force.
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