By Jemimah Wellington, JKNewsMedia Correspondent
PUBLIC ANXIENTY around Nigeria’s ongoing tax reforms drew a firm rebuttal on Friday as claims that government agencies plan to remove money directly from citizens’ bank accounts were described as false and dangerous.
Speaking at a media workshop on the new consolidated tax law, the Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, rejected warnings circulating on social media, saying they were driven by ignorance and deliberate misinformation.
“Let me say this clearly: nobody, not FIRS, not CBN, not any government agency, has the power to debit your bank account,” Oyedele said.
Adding that “Whether you have N50,000 or N50 million, nobody is taking any money from your account. It is simply not true.”
He said the claims had created unnecessary fear and risked undermining public confidence in the financial system at a sensitive time for the economy.
Oyedele explained that the rumours stemmed from the consolidation of major tax laws into a single code, which some people had wrongly interpreted as the introduction of new enforcement powers for government.
He said no such powers existed and stressed that the only lawful mechanism for recovering unpaid taxes remained a court ordered garnishee process.
Describing that process, Oyedele said it involved a lengthy legal sequence that was rarely used. He said the government could not remove money from any account without following strict steps set out in law.
“Even in extreme cases where someone owes hundreds of millions and refuses to pay, the government cannot just wake up and remove money,” he said. “They must assess you, notify you, allow objections, conclude the process, go to court, and get a judge’s order. Without that, nobody can touch your account.”
Drawing on his professional experience, Oyedele said he had never witnessed funds being taken from a bank account without judicial authorisation.
“In nearly three decades of tax administration work, I have never seen a single instance where money was removed from an account without due judicial process,” he said.
He recalled an earlier attempt by the Federal Inland Revenue Service under a former chairman, Babatunde Fowler, to place post no debit orders on accounts suspected of tax evasion. Oyedele said the initiative failed to recover any funds and instead caused public panic.
“That process did not succeed, and it created unnecessary panic,” he said. “Nobody is repeating that mistake.”
Addressing further misconceptions, Oyedele said suggestions that banks would begin reporting all customer transactions were inaccurate.
He said existing law already required business accounts to be linked to a Tax Identification Number.
He pointed to the Finance Act of 2020, which introduced reporting obligations for certain accounts, and said the new reform did not expand those requirements.
Instead, he said the reform raised the reporting threshold. The level for mandatory reporting had moved from N10 million to N25 million, which he said amounted to almost N100million annually before any report would be triggered.
“NIBSS data shows that 98 per cent of bank accounts in Nigeria have less than N500,000,” Oyedele said. “Those accounts will never be reported. This provision is not new. It has been in place for five years.”
He warned that misinformation surrounding the reforms could have serious economic consequences if it led to panic driven withdrawals from the banking system.
“One thing that can damage the economy very quickly is people rushing to withdraw their money out of fear,” he said. “Nothing in the law authorises the government to debit accounts. Please help us educate others so we do not create a problem where none exists.”
Oyedele said withdrawing funds based on unfounded fears would harm the wider economy, rather than protect individuals.
“Withdrawing your money will hurt the economy,” he said.
He restated that the purpose of the tax reform exercise was not punitive but aimed at improving efficiency and fairness in the system.
“The goal is to simplify compliance, expand the tax net, and reduce the burden on households and small businesses,” Oyedele said. “This reform is not to punish anybody. It is to make life easier, reduce double taxation, and support economic recovery.”
He added that the committee was working with the National Orientation Agency to improve public understanding of the new law.
Oyedele said digital explainers were being prepared, alongside translations of the consolidated tax law into major Nigerian languages, to ensure wider accessibility and clearer communication.
