Lagos Slashes Taxes from 65 to 9 by 2026, Scraps Bike, Truck, Canoe Levies

 Yomi Durojaye

The Lagos State Government has announced plans to introduce new levies covering bicycles, wheelbarrows, canoes, carts, trucks and several other activities as part of a sweeping tax reform scheduled to take effect in 2026.

The move comes under newly proposed tax laws aimed at simplifying revenue collection and ending the long-standing problem of multiple and overlapping taxes across the state.

The proposal was unveiled by the Office of the Special Adviser to the Governor on Taxation and Revenue during a two-day tax reform summit themed “The Lagos Implementation Roadmap”, held on Tuesday, December 23, 2025.

Why Lagos is reforming its tax system Speaking at the summit, the Special Adviser on Taxation and Revenue, Abdul-Kabir Opeyemi Ogungbo, said the reform was driven by persistent complaints from businesses and individuals over excessive taxation and harassment by multiple revenue agents.

According to him, some businesses, especially in the hospitality sector, are visited by more than 16 different revenue-collecting bodies, a situation he described as unsustainable. He said the new framework is designed to bring clarity, reduce duplication and create a fairer tax environment for residents and investors. From 65 taxes to just nine 

Under the proposed harmonisation framework, Lagos plans to collapse its current 65 taxes and levies into just nine single-digit charges. These include income tax, stamp duties, property tax, road tax and haulage levy.

Other proposed charges are the economic development levy and a broad harmonised levy that will cover shops, motor parks, slaughter slab fees, domestic animal fees, liquor licences, TV and radio fees, as well as levies on bicycles, trucks, canoes, wheelbarrows and carts that are currently charged separately by local governments.

What the harmonised levies will cover The new structure also introduces a unified user charge, which will combine fees for birth, death and marriage registration, street naming, signage and mobile advertisements, refuse and sewage disposal, burial permits, religious establishment permits and wharf landing charges. In addition, daily ticketing will cover all market-related levies, including tickets paid by transporters. According to Ogungbo, this consolidation will allow better taxpayer data management and streamline revenue operations between state and local governments.

Implementation and legal framework To ensure smooth implementation, the state plans to set up a technical committee and develop a legal framework before deploying the harmonised system. Revenue agencies will also undergo repeated training to ensure consistent enforcement across Lagos.

Representing Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Lawal Pedro (SAN), said the reforms are necessary to prepare residents and businesses for what to expect when the new tax laws come into force in 2026. He also called for similar harmonisation at the national level to promote uniformity across Nigeria.

Boosting confidence and reducing poverty Lagos State Internal Revenue Service chairman, Ayodele Subair, said the reform would ease the tax burden on businesses and improve planning and compliance. He added that the policy is also designed to help reduce poverty by easing costs related to food, housing and transportation.

Subair disclosed that many essential goods and services previously exempted from VAT will become zero-rated by 2026, meaning no sales tax will apply. He said the new approach ensures that everyone, including farmers and small-scale operators, benefits more fairly from the tax system.

Local governments pledge compliance The summit featured technical sessions with government agencies and local council representatives.

Chairperson of Conference 57 Lagos, Abdullahi Sesan Olowa, pledged that local governments would fully support the reforms and tackle tax duplication at the grassroots level once the harmonised taxes take effect. New tax law: What you must know as salary earner Legit.ng earlier reported that on January 1, 2026, one of the most comprehensive reforms of Nigeria’s tax system is set to redefine how individuals and businesses are taxed. There has been an intense debate among Nigerians, especially the working class, over what the law means for their already stretched finances. While the government insists that the reform only aims to broaden the tax base and simplify compliance, there is misinformation and conflicting reports that have left many workers confused.

Soldier shot dead by police inspector over illegal mining truck

 Yomi Durojaye 

A soldier of the Nigerian Army has been shot dead by a mobile police inspector while intercepting a truck suspected to be conveying solid minerals from an illegal mining site in Futuk, Alkaleri Local Government Area of Bauchi State.

Soldier shot dead by police inspector in Bauchi over illegal mining truck

Zagazola Makama learnt that the incident occurred on Aug. 25 at about 7:50 p.m. when troops of 33 Artillery Brigade, Bauchi, stopped a truck with registration number Gombe 676 BLG at a checkpoint in Futuk village.

The truck driver was said to have refused to halt at the checkpoint, forcing the Guard Commander, Master Warrant Officer (MWO) Ali Haruna, to pursue the vehicle with his men on motorbikes until they intercepted it.

However, on halting the truck, a mobile police officer identified as Inspector Yusuf Ibrahim allegedly disembarked and opened fire on the Guard Commander, hitting him in the stomach.

The soldiers immediately overpowered the policeman and disarmed him, while the injured officer was rushed to the Gombe Specialist Hospital for urgent medical treatment. He later died from the gunshot wound.

Sources further disclosed that the truck driver escaped from the scene in the chaos that followed the shooting.

Preliminary findings revealed that the truck was conveying solid minerals suspected to have been extracted illegally from Yalo community, also in Alkaleri LGA. The police inspector was believed to have been on illegal escort duty for the truck.

“The reasons behind the refusal of the vehicle to stop at the checkpoint, the decision of a trained police officer to open fire on soldiers after interception, and the escape of the driver remain highly suspicious. Investigations are ongoing to unravel the circumstances behind the incident,” the sources stated.

The sources added that the involvement of security personnel in illegal mining operations remained a disturbing trend, stressing that the incident spotlight  the need for urgent and independent investigations to address compromises within the security system.

Meanwhile, the Bauchi State Commissioner of Police has interfaced with the Commander, 33 Artillery Brigade, Brig.-Gen. U.J. Simon, to calm tensions and ensure proper handling of the case.

Zagazola learnt that the remains of the slain officer have been deposited at the hospital morgue while arrangements are ongoing for his burial in line with military tradition.

The suspect, Inspector Ibrahim, is currently in army custody, while the intercepted truck has been impounded for further investigation.

@HQNigerianArmy 

@PoliceNG 

@DHQNigeria

LASEMA Averts Another Major Disaster in Lagos

... Recovers Fallen Oil Tanker on Otedola Bridge

AgegePulse Magazine

LASEMA today averted another major disaster as a truck laden with 44, 000 litres of Premium Motor Oil, P.M.S, fell on Otedola Bridge inward Berger area of Lagos this morning.

The Incident Commander and Director General, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, Dr. Femi Oke-Osanyintolu who was at the incident site since it's occurrence, has assured that all emergency responders have been activated, stating that with transloading of content finally over, that there was no basis for fear as all necessary precautions had been taken to prevent the upturned truck from exploding.

Going further, as part of the precautionary measures, the spewed P.M.S was blanketed severally, while the traffic flow was effectively guided to ensure continuous free flow of traffic for Lagosians as the almost 12-hour operation was  concluded about 22:00 PM when the fully recovered vehicle was totally removed from the road to ensure complete free flow of traffic.

The Director of Operations, Engineer Akinsanya Olatunde, reaffirmed the Agency's commitment and total control of the situation with it's effective coordination and supervision of the recovery process which he attributed to being responsible for the situation of no loss of lives, no injuries to lagosians nor damages to assets which were deployed at the incident scene.

6 Die, Pastor Survives In An Accident On Lagos-Ibadan express way

A man is overwhelmed with joy after miraculously surviving a fatal motor accident which reportedly killed about six persons along Lagos-Ibadan express way.

The incident which happened Wednesday, August 1, 2018, saw many other passengers injured after their passenger bus collided with a truck along the highway.

A pastor narrowly escaped death in the accident and came out with only a small bruise on his ankle.

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Six Nigerian asylum seekers die as Cameroon forcefully repatriates them

The UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, has expressed shock about the tragic death of six Nigerian asylum-seekers, among them three children, who reportedly died in a blast in the far north of Cameroon.

The United Nations High Commissioner For Refugees has learnt that on 29th of July, 12 asylum-seekers were being forcibly returned to Banki, Nigeria, in a Cameroonian army truck which drove over an improvised explosive device that exploded.

Six Cameroonian soldiers and six other asylum-seekers were also injured in the incident, which took place in Homaka, Mayo Sava Division.



“This tragic incident is a disappointing testament of continuing forced returns (refoulement) of refugees and asylum-seekers from Cameroon, despite numerous appeals by UNHCR to the Government of Cameroon to respect its obligations,” said Valentin Tapsoba, Director of UNHCR’s Regional Bureau for Africa.

“The forced return of refugees and asylum-seekers is in violation of the principle of non-refoulement which constitutes the cornerstone of international refugee law to which the Cameroonian State is party.”

UNHCR noted that over 800 Nigerian refugees and asylum-seekers in Cameroon have been forcibly returned to Nigeria since the beginning of 2018.

It therefore called upon the government of Cameroon to refrain from carrying out further forced returns of Nigerian refugees and asylum-seekers.

It also reminded Cameroon of its obligations under international law relating to the protection of refugees and asylum-seekers and the commitments it made by signing the Tripartite Agreement for the voluntary repatriation of Nigerian refugees from Cameroon in March 2017.

UNHCR reiterated its appeal to authorities to provide Nigerian refugees with unhindered access to asylum and also expressed its readiness to support Cameroon to ensure that all individuals seeking safety have access to efficient screening, registration and documentation procedures.

Some 96,000 Nigerian refugees have sought safety in the Far North region of the country, with more than 8,000 new refugees registered since the beginning of 2018, UNCHR noted; stating that Cameroon currently hosts more than 367,000 refugees and asylum-seekers

Punch