On Sunday, the Presidency dismissed the comment purportedly made by the former Minister of Transportation and ex-Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, that the newly enacted tax law authorises the Federal Government to automatically deduct 25 per cent from funds paid into private bank accounts.
Debunking the allegations, the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, accused Amaechi of misrepresenting the provisions of the law.
The Presidency’s reaction followed the circulation of a video in which Amaechi addressed supporters, alleging that the tax reform law contains a clause permitting the automatic deduction of N25 million from any N100 million credited into an individual’s account.
“Rotimi Amaechi was caught spreading egregious lies about the Tax Act. The former minister, governor, has really slipped so low, misleading people about the law,” Onanuga wrote on his verified X handle.
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He, however, questioned whether the allegation signalled the opposition’s strategy ahead of the next general election, noting that Amaechi’s current alignment with the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
“Is this blatant falsehood a foretaste of ADC campaign strategy during the campaign for the 2027 election?” Onanuga said.
In the same video, Amaechi suggested that the implementation of the law was being postponed and would only take effect after the 2027 elections if the ruling All Progressives Congress remained in power.
“By January/February next year, all of you will be in trouble if APC wins. Go and check, what do you check? There’s a tax law … Why is the tax law not being implemented… Immediately after the election APC will implement the tax law.
“The tax law is that if I pay you N100 million for your building materials, automatically N25 million will leave your account,” Amaechi claimed.
Responding separately, the President’s Special Assistant on Social Media, Mr. Dada Olusegun, described the remarks as inaccurate and politically driven. He clarified that the Nigeria Tax Act 2025, scheduled to take effect in January 2026, introduces a progressive personal income tax regime with rates ranging from zero to 25 per cent.
Olusegun explained that individuals earning N800,000 or less annually are exempt from personal income tax, while the highest rate of 25 per cent applies only to taxable income of top earners after statutory deductions and reliefs have been considered.
“The 25% top rate only hits ultra-high incomes… on taxable income after reliefs, and not random transactions or payments,” Olusegun stated.
He added, “No automatic 25% grab from bank accounts or building material deals.”
The Presidency insisted that the claims circulating online amount to “desperate propaganda,” maintaining that the tax law does not authorise blanket deductions from routine bank transactions.
