The Joint Revenue Board has said Nigeria’s tax reform has reduced the burden on low-income earners and eliminated multiple nuisance taxes.

The Executive Secretary of the JRB, Olusegun Adesokan, stated this while giving an overview of the progress recorded one year into the implementation of the tax reform.

In a post obtained from the board’s X handle on Friday, Adesokan spoke at the 160th meeting of the JRB in Kaduna State, with the theme, “One Year of Reform: Assessing Progress and Addressing Challenges.”

He said the reform had also provided relief for low-income earners and micro-scale businesses, contrary to concerns that it had increased the tax burden.

“Addressing the misconception that the tax reform has increased taxes, the reform has rather reduced the tax burden on low-income earners, eliminated multiple nuisance taxes while providing reliefs for low-income earners and micro-scale businesses,” he said.

Adesokan said 18 state Houses of Assembly had domesticated the model harmonised taxes and levies law, which was designed to address overlapping and multiple taxation across the country.

According to him, the legislation had reduced more than 50 collection items previously administered by states and local government areas to nine sub-heads.

He added that the law had also abolished cash collection and the mounting of roadblocks for revenue collection.

The Executive Secretary said the measures had recorded significant progress in harmonising taxes and levies across the subnational governments.

The JRB, Nigeria’s apex body for revenue administration, convened the meeting to assess progress under the new revenue regime, identify gaps, and address emerging challenges.

The meeting was declared open by the Kaduna State Governor, Senator Uba Sani, who said the reform had expanded opportunities for domestic resource mobilisation and strengthened the country’s capacity to finance development.

Sani urged the JRB to identify bottlenecks affecting revenue collection, institutional weaknesses creating friction between revenue authorities and taxpayers, and opportunities for technology to improve efficiency in revenue administration.

He said, “The objective of the reform should not be simply to collect revenue; it should be to build a tax system in which compliance becomes easier, enforcement becomes more intelligent and voluntary compliance becomes a norm.”

The Executive Secretary appreciated Governor Uba Sani for hosting the 160th JRB meeting and for his consistent support of the tax reform initiative. He particularly commended the governor for nominating a member of the Board and outgoing Executive Chairman of Kaduna State Internal Revenue Service, Mr Jerry Adams, as his running mate for the 2027 gubernatorial election.

Sani expressed his delight with the tax reform, stressing that apart from eliminating duplication of taxation, it has enhanced revenue generation.

He observed that the national tax revenue has so far risen to N21.6 trillion since President Bola Tinubu introduced tax reform in 2026.

According to him, the nation’s revenue was  approximately ₦10.1 trillion in 2023,  ₦21.6 trillion in 2024, and about ₦36.8 trillion in 2025.

In his opening remarks, JRB Chairman, Dr Zacch Adedeji, represented by the Executive Director, Finance and Corporate Services, Nigeria Revenue Service, Muhammad Abubakar, said the meeting was a call for revenue authorities to take stock of the progress made, address identified gaps and confront emerging challenges.

He said the ultimate measure of the reform’s success must be improved revenue mobilisation, greater compliance, a better taxpayer experience, and stronger contributions to national development.

Source: punchng.com

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About 37 persons have reportedly died after inhaling fumes from a petroleum product at a jetty in Okrika Local Government Area of Rivers State.

The incident occurred on Thursday at the Okari Jetty in the Okrika Mainland area, where youths from Okrika and neighbouring communities had reportedly gathered to load a petroleum product from an illegal tapping point.

Many others were said to be missing following the incident, which occurred in the mainly coastal community.

A source in the community told our reporter that more than 100 persons had stormed the jetty with locally made boats while a vessel was anchored at the riverside to load petroleum products.

The source said trouble started while the youths were loading the product, as a strong smell suddenly saturated the air, causing several of them to collapse.

“Many of them collapsed into the river, while others who managed to escape the scene had serious respiratory disorders and were being treated at the hospital.

“As I speak to you, over 37 bodies were identified as Okrika people, while six others were yet to be identified and many are still missing,” the source, who pleaded anonymity, said.

The Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre also confirmed the incident, saying its network of youth volunteers and human rights defenders in the Niger Delta had reported that no fewer than 37 persons suspected of involvement in illegal oil activities died after inhaling what was locally referred to as “Indorama fuel.”

The Executive Director of YEAC-Nigeria, Dr Fyneface Dumnamene, said in a statement that the incident occurred at about midnight on Thursday at the Okari Jetty.

“According to the report, no fewer than 37 persons suspected to be oil thieves died after inhaling what is locally called ‘Indorama Fuel.’

“Many others are still missing. The incident occurred during the illegal loading of the product into a ship at a tapping point,” he said.

Dumnamene said the victims had connected a pipe to a tapping point on a pipeline that transported petroleum products from the Indorama Eleme Petrochemical through the Port Harcourt Refinery to vessels that reportedly came every two weeks to load products for export.

He added that the youths inhaled the product while a vessel was loading and they were simultaneously loading it into their waiting boats from the illegal tapping point.

“This led to the death of not fewer than 37 persons. Many are still missing, and some corpses have been seen floating on the river but have not yet been recovered,” he stated.

Dumnamene called on the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency to immediately conduct a joint investigation visit to the site of the incident.

He also urged the company that owned the vandalised facilities to provide adequate security for its pipelines to prevent a recurrence.

The YEAC-Nigeria boss condemned the alleged sabotage, warning youths to stay away from oil and gas infrastructure because of the dangers associated with high-pressure pipelines.

He also called for alternative livelihood opportunities for youths in the Niger Delta, including the establishment of modular refineries and the legalisation of artisanal refining.

When contacted, the spokesperson for the Rivers State Police Command, Blessing Agabe, confirmed the incident and said the victims were reportedly attempting to steal crude oil.

Agabe, an Assistant Superintendent of Police, said no official complaint had been lodged with the command but added that an investigation had commenced.

“The suspects reportedly died in the process of attempting to steal crude oil. However, no official complaint has been received in connection with the incident at this time.

“Investigation is ongoing to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident and ascertain the facts,” the police spokesperson stated.

However, the Commander of the Civilian JTF in Okrika LGA, Igwe Godswill, gave a different account of the incident, saying the victims had gone to scoop petroleum products that had spilled into the river when they were allegedly overwhelmed by fumes from a vessel loading products at the jetty.

Godswill described the incident as tragic, saying most of the victims were youths searching for means of livelihood amid a lack of employment opportunities.

“It is so pathetic that this incident is happening in our community. These are young guys who have gone to search for their daily bread, only for the fumes from the fuel that was pumped to kill so many of our youths under the bridge.

“Many of them were choked to death. These are not criminals or anything, but they went out in search of their daily meal. I am advising the community, the leaders and every other person that we need legitimate jobs in the community.

“These things are risky, but when you cannot feed your children, most times, those risky jobs become the only option,” Godswill stated.

He explained that the victims had gone to scoop petroleum products floating on the water when they were overcome by fumes from a vessel loading petroleum products at the jetty.

Godswill, however, said about 10 bodies had been recovered, adding that only some of the victims could be identified because of the condition of their remains.

He said, “We saw about 10 of them. Four were still unrecognisable, while four persons were identified. The rest could not be identified because their bodies were badly damaged and their faces were severely affected.”

The Civilian JTF commander called on the Rivers State Government, community leaders and other relevant authorities to create employment opportunities for youths in the area to discourage them from engaging in dangerous activities.

“I am calling on the relevant authorities, community leaders, the chairman and every other person to look into this. It is not enough to stop them because, yes, it is a risky job, but they should create jobs for the youths so that everybody will have something to eat.

“Something that can put food on the tables of these young men, the youths and every other person. I can tell you for free that it will not just stop because when that source is the only livelihood, people will still go there.

“Even as of yesterday, people still went there, despite the fact that we had confirmed that people had died from the same activity. So, we are calling on the leaders to look into it and see how they can create job opportunities, especially for the youths,” Godswill added.

Source: punchng.com

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Drivers who obtained or deployed vehicles through financing arrangements to operate on Uber’s platform in Nigeria now face uncertainty after the ride-hailing company exited the country, the drivers’ association said on Thursday.

Uber Technologies Inc. discontinued its Nigerian operations on Wednesday, September 2, ending a 12-year presence in the country as it shifts investment towards markets where it believes it can create the most value.

Uber and Moove have a partnership under which vehicles financed by Moove for drivers were deployed for use on Uber’s platform. Uber is also one of Moove’s major investors.

The arrangement meant that drivers using Moove-financed vehicles for Uber’s UberGo service had previously been required to operate exclusively on the Uber platform.

Uber’s withdrawal from Nigeria therefore left affected drivers uncertain about the use of their vehicles and how they would continue earning from ride-hailing while meeting their financing obligations.

The Amalgamated Union of App-Based Transport Workers of Nigeria told The PUNCH that Uber’s departure would require drivers who depended on the platform to migrate to competing services, particularly Bolt and inDrive. “Now they have to migrate officially to Bolt and inDrive,” the union’s Public Relations Officer, Steven Iwindoye, stated.

The union also raised concerns about vehicles financed through mobility company Moove, asking what would happen to cars acquired or deployed specifically for Uber operations now that the platform had ceased operating in Nigeria.

However, the union said the migration would take place against the backdrop of existing financial pressures on drivers, who have repeatedly complained about the cost of fuel, vehicle maintenance and other operating expenses.

The union said many drivers were struggling to maintain their vehicles. “Look at the condition of our car; many of us don’t even have money to maintain, to take care of our car,” the executive stated.

The union also argued that ride-hailing companies could not sustain their businesses by focusing primarily on market dominance without ensuring adequate returns for the platforms and viable earnings for drivers. “What is the essence of you dominating the market when you are not making profit?” Iwindoye asked.

Drivers said they had repeatedly attempted to engage Uber on issues affecting them but received little attention from the company, while describing Bolt and inDrive as more receptive to discussions and interactive sessions with drivers and their representatives.

“Bolt, inDrive, sometimes they reach out to us; we do interactive sessions,” Iwindoye said, adding that attempts to establish similar engagement with Uber had yielded little response. But on the aspect of Uber, nothing, nothing,” he said.

For Bolt and inDrive, Uber’s departure presents an opportunity to attract some of the riders and drivers who previously used the platform. But the union warned that market dominance would not necessarily address the underlying economic challenges facing the industry.

The organisation said drivers were already facing difficulties maintaining their vehicles and argued that ride-hailing platforms needed to ensure that the economics of the sector worked for both operators and drivers.

Nigeria’s ride-hailing and mobility platforms market was valued at $450m in 2025 and is projected to reach $982m by 2032, representing a compound annual growth rate of 11.8 per cent, according to Ken Research.

The market’s size and projected growth contrast with Uber’s decision to withdraw, underscoring the increasingly selective approach global technology companies are taking to capital allocation.

An Uber spokesperson disclosed the withdrawal in an email to The PUNCH on Wednesday, saying that the withdrawal was specific to Nigeria and Uganda and would not affect its other African operations.

It reiterated its commitment to sub-Saharan Africa, where it said it continued to see “robust growth and long-term opportunity”.

Uber revealed it was shifting investment towards markets where it believed it could create the most value for drivers by providing earning opportunities at scale and enabling riders to travel seamlessly.

The company said its immediate priority was to support drivers, riders and employees affected by the withdrawal, adding that it had begun communicating with active drivers and would provide them with a token of appreciation during the transition.

The Nigerian withdrawal comes as Uber undergoes a major restructuring that will cut about 3,300 jobs, representing roughly 10 per cent of its global workforce.

Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi said the restructuring was intended to make Uber simpler and faster, with the company reducing management layers and reorganising teams to operate more efficiently at its current scale.

The restructuring also reflects Uber’s focus on areas of future growth, including autonomous transportation and robotaxis, as the mobility industry prepares for the possibility of driverless vehicles altering the economics of conventional ride-hailing.

Before its exit, Uber had been less visible in its engagement with drivers than Bolt, its biggest rival. The company did not have a public relations officer in Nigeria, with its communications handled through a third-party PR firm, and also operated without a country manager.

It is unclear how many employees Uber had in Nigeria. Globally, the company has about 34,000 employees and operates in more than 70 countries, according to a recent filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Uber’s Nigerian exit follows a series of changes to its African operations. In January, the company withdrew from Tanzania following years of regulatory tensions involving fares, commissions and regulatory control.

The company also left Côte d’Ivoire in September 2025 after six years of operations. In South Africa, Uber discontinued UberX, its lower-cost service, on September 1, although it continues to operate other services in the country.

Nigeria had been an important part of Uber’s African expansion since the company entered Lagos in 2014 before expanding to Abuja in 2016.

The market has since developed into a broader mobility ecosystem involving ride-hailing platforms, drivers, fleet operators, vehicle-financing companies and businesses that use digital platforms to arrange transportation.

The union is also seeking a greater role in discussions over the future regulation of app-based transportation.

It stated that it was participating in policy discussions in Abuja involving transport commissioners, the Minister of Transportation, Vice-President Kashim Shettima, government agencies and other stakeholders.

The organisation said it had presented its proposals to policymakers and believed that the resulting policies would apply across Nigeria’s transportation sector, including ride-hailing platforms.

Uber, however, rejected any suggestion that its Nigerian withdrawal was linked to a recent directive by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria concerning e-hailing operations at Nigerian airports. The company said the decision followed its own review of business priorities and investment focus.

Economist reacts

In an interview with The PUNCH, Chief Executive Officer of Economic Associates, Dr Ayo Teriba, described Uber’s exit from Nigeria as a sector-specific regulatory issue that should not reflect on the country’s overall investment attractiveness.

Teriba criticised the government’s handling of Uber’s operations at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, arguing that restrictions and charges affecting its airport business could have contributed to its decision to leave.

“The airport or no airport issue definitely must be one of the factors. When they are in the country, but cannot do airport business, what other business will they be doing? We do not have to create a jungle-like situation and make life difficult for people,” he stressed.

The economist also questioned the impact of airport charges and the protection of designated taxi operators on Uber’s business model, saying, “And if Uber must be paying exorbitant parking fees at airports, what business will they have?”

Teriba, however, rejected suggestions that the exit represented a broader deterioration in Nigeria’s investment climate, stressing that the development remained specific to the transport sector. “This is sector-specific. And exceptions don’t prove the rule. This is exceptional,” he said.

He said authorities should investigate whether Uber’s exit could have been prevented and improve the operating environment for companies still active in the sector. “This is about those who manage that sector. The transport sector, in particular, the interface between air transport and road transport. We should not generalise it,” he cautioned.

Source: punchng.com

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