Senate Passes Harmonised Version Of Tinubu’s Tax Reform Bills

The Senate on Wednesday adopted the harmonised version of the tax reform bills proposed by President Bola Tinubu.

The Senate’s resolution followed the consideration of the recommendations of the conference committee of both chambers, which was tasked with aligning the differences in the bills.

Presenting the harmonised report, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Sani Musa, laid out the final agreements reached.

The legislative efforts mark a significant step in overhauling Nigeria’s tax administration and revenue generation framework, as part of the Tinubu administration’s broader fiscal reform agenda.

The four tax reform bills that Tinubu transmitted to the National Assembly in November last year include the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Bill, 2025 (SB. 583); Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill, 2025 (SB. 584); Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, 2025 (SB. 585); and Nigeria Tax Bill, 2025 (SB. 586).

The development comes three days after the parliament hinted it may consider passing the harmonised tax reform bills following a successful review of the contentious clauses in the proposed legislation.

House Committee on Finance Chairman, Hon James Faleke, disclosed this via his official X account on Sunday.

Faleke is the leader of the House delegation for the bills’ harmonisation exercise.

He tweeted, “The Conference Committee set up by the House and the Senate on the Tax Reform Bills has successfully concluded its work. The joint committees thoroughly reviewed all sections and addressed the grey areas of the four Bills, examining each clause strategically and resolving contentious issues.

“After an intensive deliberation that stretched through Thursday night, all day Friday, and into the early hours of Saturday, I am pleased to report that the Bills are now ready to present to the House and the Senate for final passage.”

LEADERSHIP reports that the four tax bills were sent two weeks ago to the joint harmonisation committee, which consists of members of the Senate and the House of Representatives, to reconcile the amendments of both chambers before they are transmitted to the president for his assent.

After announcing the passage of the bills following a majority voice vote, Senate President Godswill Akpabio praised the lawmakers for their sacrifice in ensuring that Nigeria’s tax system meets international standards.

“These four executive bills seek to transform and modernise the tax system in Nigeria,” he said.

Senate Approves N1.8trn 2025 FCT Statutory Appropriation Bill

The Senate has approved N1.8 trillion for the 2025 Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) Statutory Appropriation Bill.

The approval followed the presentation of the report by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on FCT, Senator Bomai Ibrahim (APC–Yobe), during plenary on Wednesday in Abuja.

Presenting the report, Senator Ibrahim said the Senate and the House Committee on FCT met with the FCT Minister and other relevant officials to deliberate on the appropriation bill.

He explained that the budget breakdown includes a personnel cost of N106 billion, overhead of N352 billion, and total recurrent expenditure of N502 billion. The proposed capital expenditure was N1.3 trillion.

According to him, total personnel cost constitutes 8.29 per cent of the budget, recurrent expenditure accounts for 27.69 per cent, and capital expenditure makes up 72.31 per cent.

He further stated that of the 72.31 per cent allocated to capital expenditure, 85 per cent is dedicated to ongoing projects, while 50 per cent is earmarked for new projects.

Ibrahim noted that the standard best practice for a budget framework is typically 70 per cent for capital and 30 per cent for recurrent expenditures. He commended the FCT budget structure for exceeding this benchmark.

“It is commendable that the FCT budget has 72.31 per cent for capital expenditure and 27.69 per cent for recurrent expenditure. This shows that the budget structure conforms with best practices,” he said.

Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin (APC, Kano) lauded the FCTA’s leadership for its performance and urged the Senate to approve the budget to support the FCT Minister and his team’s efforts to improve infrastructure development.

The Senate subsequently passed the 2025 FCTA Statutory Appropriation Bill.

The House of Representatives has passed the N1.81 trillion Appropriation Bill of the FCT for the 2025 fiscal year.

This followed the consideration and adoption of the House Committee on FCT report and the reading of the money bill for the third time at the plenary on Wednesday.

Out of the total sum, N150.35 billion is for personnel costs, N352.02 billion is for overhead costs, and N1.31 trillion is for capital projects.

LEADERSHIP reports that President Bola Tinubu submitted the proposed N1.78 trillion FCT budget to the House, which passed it for second reading last week.

However, as it finally passed, the FCT Appropriation Bill showed that the budget had increased from N1.78 trillion to N1.81 trillion.

Similarly, the House passed through second reading the Rivers State Budget (Appropriation Bill) of N1.481 trillion.