From Atiku Sarki, Abuja
The Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority has backed calls for a 10-year tax exemption for operators in oil and gas free zones, urging the Federal Government to allow a transition period under the new tax law.
In a statement issued to Triumph on Sunday, the authority said its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr Bamanga Umar Jada, made the call during a town hall meeting held in Onne, Rivers State, involving officials of the Federal Inland Revenue Service and OGFZA licensees.
Jada said the proposed exemption would give operators the needed “adaptation space” to adjust to evolving tax requirements and protect long-term investments in the sector.
“Accordingly, OGFZA supports the call for a 10-year extension of existing tax incentives, coupled with phased implementation to mitigate potential disruptions,” he said.
He noted that many investors plan their operations over long horizons of between 10 and 25 years, based on prevailing incentives, stressing that policy stability remains critical to sustaining confidence.
The OGFZA boss disclosed that Nigeria’s free zones have attracted over $24bn in investments, describing them as strategically important to the nation’s economic growth.
“Energy-focused free zones have driven development globally, as seen in Jebel Ali in Dubai and the Sohar Free Zone in Oman,” Jada said, adding that similar incentives have helped Nigeria’s oil and gas free zones attract more than 200 enterprises and generate hundreds of thousands of direct and indirect jobs.
He commended President Bola Tinubu for his commitment to tax reforms under the Renewed Hope Agenda and praised the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, for supporting the sector.
Jada further revealed that exports from Nigeria’s oil and gas free zones had risen to over 496 million metric tonnes under the current administration, with products reaching markets in Brazil, the United States, France, India, the United Kingdom and South Korea.
He reaffirmed OGFZA’s readiness to continue collaborating with the FIRS to ensure tax reforms are implemented fairly and efficiently.
Also speaking at the meeting, the Executive Chairman of the FIRS, Dr Zacch Adedeji, said the 2025 tax reforms were aimed at modernising Nigeria’s fiscal framework.
Represented by his Special Adviser on Tax Incentives, Dr Cletus Adie, Adedeji said the introduction of tax clearance certificates for licence renewals was designed to promote transparency and accountability rather than impose income taxes on free zone operators.
Stakeholders at the meeting unanimously called for the exemption of special economic and free zone operators from the new tax law to enable a smooth transition.