Documents Reveal Tinubu’s $750m W/Bank Loan Required Imposing New Taxes On Alcohol, Telecoms, Betting, Vehicles, Others

The Bola Tinubu administration signed an agreement with the World Bank for a $750 million loan, following the Bank’s approval on June 14, 2024, five days before the final disbursement deal was concluded with the Nigerian government.

The loan was signed under the Accelerating Resource Mobilisation Reforms (ARMOR) Program-for-Results for Nigeria.

As of the time of filing this report, the Nigerian government had already accessed $280.551 million of the approved loan.

Program documents reviewed by SaharaReporters show that by the end of 2026, a total of $343 million is expected to have been disbursed. By 2028, the entire $750 million loan is expected to have been released to Nigeria.

Interestingly, checks show that under the Tinubu administration, which signed the final agreement for the loan, a major component of the programme was designed to increase tax revenue by introducing new taxes and levies on Nigerians.

Details on the World Bank website read in part: “The ARMOR (Accelerating Resource Mobilization Reforms) program contains revenue policy measures such as, raising pro-health taxes on tobacco, and alcohol, introducing taxes on online betting and gambling.”

The programme also required Nigeria to introduce “new excise on telecommunication services, green taxes in the form of excises on vehicles and single-use plastics, as well as the implementation of an electronic money transfer levy.”

Barely three months after Nigeria signed the agreement with the World Bank, SaharaReporters reported that Fintech organisation OPay announced a one-time fee of N50 on electronic transfers of N10,000 and above into personal and business accounts.

This was contained in a notice sent to customers, stating that the charge was in compliance with Federal Inland Revenue Service regulations.

According to the notice, the charge took effect from September 9, 2024. It stated that the fee was not a source of revenue for the online payment platform but was a government requirement.

“Dear valued customers, please be informed that starting September 9, 2024, a one-time fee of N50 will be applied for electronic transfer of N10,000 and above paid into your personal or business account in compliance with the Federal Inland Revenue Service regulations,” the platform said at the time.

“It is important to note that OPay does not benefit from these charges in any way as it is directed entirely to the federal government.”

Subsequently, banks began charging senders a N50 stamp duty on electronic transfers of N10,000 and above from January 1, 2026, following the implementation of the Tax Act.

The stamp duty, also known as the electronic money transfer levy (EMTL), is a single, one-off charge of N50 on electronic receipts or transfers of N10,000 and above deposited into any account in a commercial bank or other financial institution.

In line with the agreement with the World Bank, the Tinubu administration, in April 2026, was quoted by Reuters as introducing a new green tax surcharge on motor vehicles under its 2026 fiscal policy measures, which took effect on July 1.

According to Reuters, the new levy, approved on April 1, applies to vehicles with engine sizes of 2,000cc (2-litre) to 3,999cc at a rate of 2%, while vehicles with engines of 4,000cc and above attract a 4% charge.

Nigeria said the measure forms part of a wider package of 2026 fiscal policy changes approved by the President, alongside revised import tariffs, changes to excise duties and the adoption of the ECOWAS common external tariff.

There have been concerns over the tax policies of the Tinubu-led government, although the administration has consistently defended the measures as necessary for the country’s development.

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