Nigeria State Governors Give Conditional Backing to Tax Reforms

Nigeria’s powerful state governors dropped their opposition to an overhaul of the nation’s taxes, provided that plans to cut corporate tax and raise value added tax are abandoned.

President Bola Tinubu’s tax reforms, seen as essential to boosting Nigeria’s shaky public finances, are currently being debated by lawmakers and are expected to become law this year.

The governors can’t veto that process. But they wield considerable political influence that could sap support for the legislation, and they can also challenge it in court after it becomes law.

The leaders of the nation’s 36 states said in a statement that ...