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A powerful assembly of Delta State’s leading voices in finance, economic planning, law, business and academia will on Thursday, November 27, 2025, converge on David’s Event Centre, Asaba, for the 2025 Convention and Annual Lecture of the Delta Online Publishers Forum (DOPF).

This year’s event takes on added significance as Nigeria moves toward the implementation of a sweeping new tax law on January 1, 2026, regarded by experts as one of the country’s most ambitious fiscal reforms in decades.

Heavyweight Panel to Examine Far-Reaching Tax Changes

Chairman of the occasion, Chief Edward Obiefuna Martyns (Nnanyelugo), FCA, MBA, MSc, and Director of Local Government Accounts in the Office of the Accountant General of Delta State, will lead the deliberations. A seasoned chartered accountant with vast public- and private-sector experience, Chief Martyns is expected to set the tone for a rigorous review of the new tax framework.

The discussants’ roster features a blend of government technocrats, academics, legal practitioners and private-sector leaders, including:

• Mr Sonny Ekedayen, Delta State Commissioner for Economic Planning and Fellow of ICAN and CITN;
• Mr Victor Fegor Origho, taxation and corporate governance consultant and lecturer at Dennis Osadebay University;
• Mr Martins Oyem Aghaobodo, Esq., veteran lawyer and Head of Chambers, Oyem M. Aghaobodo & Associates;
• Barr. Ikpesu Gideon Jade, Vice-Chairman, NBA Effurun Branch, expected to dissect the regulatory and constitutional dimensions of the new tax regime;
• Engr. Tony Okoh, President of DACCIMA, who will speak to the business community’s preparedness and competitiveness under the revised fiscal structure.

Keynote to Spotlight Impact on Governance and Business

Delivering the keynote address is Associate Prof. Ochuko Benedict Emudainohwo, PhD, FCA, a respected scholar of accounting and taxation at Dennis Osadebay University. His presentation will offer an in-depth breakdown of the legislation and the potential economic outcomes as Nigeria positions for a new era of tax administration.

Nigeria’s drive to modernise its tax framework—shaped over the decades by landmark laws such as the Petroleum Profits Tax Act of 1959, Companies Income Tax Act of 1961, and the introduction of VAT in 1993—reaches a new milestone with the 2026 reforms aimed at simplifying compliance, plugging leakages and strengthening revenue transparency.

High-Level Attendance Expected

Delta State Governor, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, will attend as Special Guest of Honour. Senior government officials, industry leaders, civil society representatives and media professionals from across the state are also expected.

DOPF Lecture Gains Growing Credibility

Now in its sixth year, the DOPF Convention and Annual Lecture has evolved into a respected platform for public policy engagement in Delta State. This year’s edition is expected to deepen public understanding of the new tax law while advancing dialogue on economic reform and sustainable development.