Taiwo Oyedele, the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, has described Nigeria as a poor country with the potential to be wealthy.
His remarks were made during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he highlighted the disparity between Nigeria’s budget and those of other countries and cities.
Oyedele emphasized that the combined budget of Nigeria’s Federal Government and states is significantly lower than that of many countries and even some cities.
“The entire budget, that’s the Federal Government’s of about N29 trillion plus all the states in Nigeria about N15 trillion – if you add it all, it comes to about N44 trillion. That’s around $30 billion,” he said.
He further pointed out that this $30 billion budget is less than Kenya’s $32 billion budget and is only a quarter of South Africa’s $130 billion budget.
“It’s even less than the budget of New York City, not even just New York State. So, clearly, Nigeria is a poor country with the potential to be a wealthy country,” Oyedele noted.
The Chairman’s statements come amid ongoing criticism of the Federal Government over perceived over-taxation.
Recent protests in Kenya against new tax laws have sparked similar conversations in Nigeria. However, Oyedele ruled out the introduction of more taxes as a solution to Nigeria’s revenue challenges.
“We believe based on the analysis we have done and the data available to us that the right way to go is not to introduce more taxes,” he stated. “If you’re going to raise the rates of any tax, it has to be something that we’re doing as a result of consolidation and harmonization.”
Oyedele advocates for fewer, more efficient taxes that are broad-based and easier to collect, without placing a heavy burden on the lower-income segments of society.
He stressed the importance of using data, intelligence, and technology to close the tax gap and ensure that those who should be paying taxes do so.
“By using data, intelligence, and technology, we can close the tax gap so that people who have not been paying before begin to pay – who have been identified as people who should be paying – and the poor people should be legitimately exempted, particularly nano, micro businesses and low-income earners,” Oyedele explained.
He is optimistic that with these measures, Nigeria can more than double its revenue within two to three years.
“We think that with all those, we can easily more than double our revenue within a period of two to three years,” he concluded.
Oyedele’s insights underscore the need for Nigeria to reform its fiscal policies and tax system to unlock its wealth potential, while ensuring fairness and efficiency in tax collection.
His remarks have ignited a conversation about the best path forward for Nigeria’s economic development and fiscal stability.
