I’ve Been Threatened Over Tax Reform Implementation – Taiwo Oyedele

Taiwo Oyedele

The Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, has revealed that he faces life-threatening situations due to his role in implementing comprehensive tax reforms in Nigeria. He recently had his say during a governance colloquium organized to celebrate the 50th birthday of Hajiya Hadiza Bala Usman, Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination.

According to him, he is aware that the reform process faces multiple obstacles, including widespread mistrust of government, poor tax compliance culture and limited understanding of fiscal exchange among citizens.

He added that Nigeria’s tax revenue collection remains significantly lower than that of comparable nations, making reforms unavoidable.

Hs words, “Suddenly, there is a national awareness, and they just say, the people have come with taxes all over the place when actually, what the government is doing is to reduce those taxes they have been paying, and harmonise them.

You need that courage to push through, you need the courage to take risks, because it’s very risky.

What we have been doing all along, all my adult life with the tax system, was pain reliever. It hasn’t taken us far. It can’t take us far. Now we’re doing the surgery. It’s going to come with some pain, but that’s the only right thing to do.”

WOW.