Kingibe's 25% tax claim is false, new tax law uses banded rates

Senator Ireti Kingibe has told a gathering of her supporters in Abuja that Nigerian law requires every citizen to hand over 25 per cent of their earnings to the federal government. That claim does not match what the country's new tax law actually says.

Kingibe, who was elected to the Senate on the Labour Party ticket and now runs under the African Democratic Congress (ADC), made the remark in pidgin English in a video that spread widely online. She also said the government had delayed putting the tax laws into use for fear of a public backlash before the 2027 elections. According to Premium Times, she stood by both claims when asked to clarify.

The laws she criticised were passed by the National Assembly in June 2025, published in September 2025 and took effect on 1 January 2026. Kingibe was a member of the Senate that passed them.

What the law really says

The Nigeria Tax Act 2025 does not impose one flat rate on everybody. It taxes income in bands, so the rate rises as a person earns more.

• The first ₦800,000 of yearly chargeable income is taxed at zero per cent.
• The next ₦2.2 million is taxed at 15 per cent.
• The next ₦9 million is taxed at 18 per cent.
• The next ₦13 million is taxed at 21 per cent.
• The next ₦25 million is taxed at 23 per cent.
• The 25 per cent rate applies only to the part of yearly income above ₦50 million.

The law also exempts workers whose gross income is no more than the national minimum wage. Pension contributions and rent relief can bring a person's chargeable income down further.

Okey Udo, a chartered tax practitioner at Vog Global Consult and a member of the education committee of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), said the senator's claim was either a misunderstanding of the law or politically motivated. He rejected the idea that every Nigerian owes 25 per cent of their earnings.

Why it matters

Tax is a pocket issue for most households, and a claim that a quarter of every salary goes to government can spread quickly on WhatsApp and in market talk. The actual burden for low and middle earners is far lighter than that, and the lowest earners pay nothing.

Kingibe is seeking re-election and used the address to urge supporters to vote against the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2027. The date of the gathering could not be independently confirmed.