Here is today’s roundup of some Nigeria newspaper headlines, where we call the government’s attention to the concerns and needs of the people.
1. Premium Times: Concerns raised as Nigeria’s revenue-generating agencies appear before lawmakers
So, the House of Representatives has finally called in the big revenue agencies, such as the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), and Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), to ask the age-old Nigerian question of ‘Where is the money we told you to bring’?
And just like students caught unprepared for a surprise test, everyone showed up with PowerPoints, explanations, and the usual ‘the figures are not aligning, Honourable’.
Our Take: Dear citizens, if the money does not come from these agencies, the government will simply come for us. What that means is more taxes, more levies, and more fees we never agreed to.
So demand that these agencies publish what they collect, what they miss, and where the leakages are. If we must pay tax, the least they can do is stop the holes where billions are disappearing like evaporated pure water.
2. ThisDay: Tinubu Nominates Tax Reforms Committee Chair, Taiwo Oyedele, As Minister of State for Finance
President Bola Tinubu has nominated Taiwo Oyedele as Minister of State for Finance. Meanwhile, Dr Doris Anite-Uzoka has changed portfolios again, her third station in this administration. At this rate, she deserves a loyalty card from the Ministry Rotation Programme.
Now, Oyedele is no stranger to Nigeria’s tax headache. He led the committee that told Nigeria to simplify its chaotic tax system, but now he has to implement it from inside the building, like a man who designed a kitchen and now has to cook in it.
Our Take: Nigerians should insist on continuity. Every reshuffle must come with published handover notes, timelines, and performance indicators. Without this, we are just rearranging chairs on a ship that needs an engine.
3. ThisDay: Edun: Implementation of New Tax Laws Will Be Monitored to Ensure Fairness, Equity
Finance Minister Wale Edun says Nigeria will monitor the new tax laws to ensure transparency and fairness. We have heard ‘fairness’ so many times that it now sounds like a nickname and not a policy direction.
The new presumptive tax targets informal businesses by estimating earnings based on what can be seen. In simple terms: ‘We don’t know how much you make, but we will guess, and you must pay’.
Our Take: Dear Nigerians, we must not let ‘presumptive tax’ become ‘presumptive punishment’. Ask your legislators to demand simulations of how these taxes affect small businesses, market women, artisans, riders, and young entrepreneurs. Without safeguards, this will become a tax on survival.
4. The Guardian: Tropical Disease Prevention: Drug shortage, funding cuts put 100m Nigerians, NTD gains at risk
As the world marks the 2026 World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day (NTDs), Nigeria is walking backwards, as drug shortages, donor fatigue, insecurity, and import bottlenecks are threatening gains against diseases like trachoma, lymphatic filariasis, and river blindness.
Imagine defeating Guinea worm only to lose the battle because someone did not sign an import paper on time.
Our Take: This is beyond health; it is a governance crisis. Over 100 million Nigerians are at risk, yet domestic funding for NTDs is behaving like Nigeria’s electricity. And when systems fail, women, girls, children, and persons with disabilities bear the harshest consequences. We should demand that the Ministry of Health publish a clear NTD funding plan, updated drug import timelines, and a strategy for PHC integration in endemic communities.
