By Emma Ujah, Abuja Bureau Chief
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, has said that the new Tax Acts were not just about raising revenue but building trust among members of the Nigerian public.
He spoke virtually yesterday at the opening of the 2026 Annual Conference of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (COTN), in Abuja.
Oyedele said that while it was the government’s desire to generate more revenue, that objective could only be achieved through building trust among the people to see the importance of paying taxes for the good of all.
He said that the current tax regime had simplified tax payment, reduced the number of taxes and exempted low income earners from payment of Personal Income Tax.
Oyedele charged the tax professionals to play the roles of advisors to the government, interpret the new tax laws to their clients and members of the public.
In his remarks, the Special Adviser to the President on Economic Matters in the Office of the Vice President, Dr. Tope Fashua said fiscal policies needed to constantly evolve.
His words, “Given recent events around the world, there is a need for the government to be very prepared and for fiscal policies to continue to evolve.”
He noted that the fiscal reform was a process, adding, “It’s not going to be a walk in the park. It’s not going to be an easy affair; if it was, it would have been done a long time ago. So people will still complain about multiple taxation, levies from local governments and all of that.
“I’m sure it still costs a lot to ship, to move a trailer from Kano to Lagos Port carrying commodities—many stoppages along the way.
“But the process has started to outlaw some of those collections. And of course, we also depend on Nigerians because again, those who are collecting this unnecessary money are also Nigerians. So we have to appeal to ourselves. We also have to be watchdogs.”
In his address, the CITN President, Mr. Innocent Ohagwa, said this year’s conference theme was particularly significant because it directly focused on the most important tasks of “building a tax system that is globally relevant, economically competitive, socially equitable, and fiscally sustainable.”period under review, the company completed 10 clinker shipments from Nigeria to neighbouring markets, further consolidating its position as Africa’s leading cement exporter. According to the company’s unaudited Q1 2026 financial results, total sales volumes increased by 13.8 per cent year-on-year, driven by growth of 11.5 per cent in Nigeria and 19.5 per cent across its pan African operations.
Commenting on the performance, the Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Cement Plc, Arvind Pathak, said the results reflected the strength of the company’s operating model and its disciplined execution across markets.
“We have delivered an outstanding start to 2026, with revenue up 20.4 per cent year on year to N1.198 trillion, driven by a strong rebound in volumes which grew 13.8 per cent across our markets. EBITDA increased by 22.8 per cent to N567.1 billion, demonstrating the strength of our operating model, disciplined cost control, and our ability to convert growth into superior profitability,” he said.
For the quarter, Dangote Cement reported a profit before tax of N421.1 billion, representing a 35 per cent increase from N311.9 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.
Earnings per share rose to N19.14, up from N12.29, underscoring sustained value creation for shareholders.
On exports and expansion, Pathak noted the rapid scaling of Dangote Cement’s export business and progress across key growth projects.
“Our export business continues to scale rapidly, with volumes from Nigeria up 71.6 per cent and 10 clinker shipments completed in the quarter. This performance reinforces our strategic position as Africa’s leading cement exporter,” he said.
“Following the commissioning of our 3Mta grinding plant in Côte d’Ivoire, we are progressing well with our expansion projects in Itori and Ethiopia, alongside other growth initiatives across the continent. These investments will further strengthen our footprint and keep us firmly on track to reach 80Mt of production capacity by 2030.”
Source: Vanguard News