Price stability has become the first casualty of Nigeria’s new tax template, not because the reform imposes a new burden, but because fear and unaddressed misinterpretation have raced ahead the curve, turning uncertainty and anxiety into higher prices, ISAAC CHIBUIFE reports. Across Nigeria’s commercial landscape, traders and service providers have seized the tax reforms as justification for price increases that bear little relation to their actual tax obligations. A visit by The Guardian to some places in Lagos showed that price increases have come in the form of value-added tax (VAT) charges. Another X user, simply identified as Dioslev, expressed alarm over vendors demanding an additional 10 per cent VAT on purchases, warning of economic collapse. In upscale establishments, diners have reported surcharges running into tens of thousands of naira, with one viral video showing a restaurant bill inflated by N23,000 under the guise of “new government tax policy”.

Source: The Guardian January 12, 2026 07:00 UTC