By ebosele@hotmail.com –
The Office of the Tax Ombud has called for a trust-based tax system in Nigeria, warning that the country’s tax reform agenda may fall short of its objectives if revenue growth is not matched by increased taxpayer confidence.
Nigeria’s first Tax Ombudsman, Dr. John Nwabueze, made the call in a speech delivered on his behalf by his Chief of Staff, Dr. Peter Iwegbu, at the 36th anniversary conference of the Finance Correspondents Association of Nigeria (FICAN) in Lagos.
The conference was themed, “Building Taxpayers’ Confidence and Trust in Nigeria’s Tax Reform Agenda.”
Nwabueze said revenue growth and taxpayer confidence should not be treated as competing objectives, stressing that effective administration could make both mutually reinforcing.
“Revenue growth and taxpayers’ confidence should not be viewed as an opposing objective. Properly administered, they can reinforce one another,” he said.
According to him, legislation alone cannot deliver the objectives of Nigeria’s tax reforms, adding that the real test lies in whether taxpayers can understand their obligations, determine the taxes legitimately applicable to them and trust the system to treat them fairly when disputes arise.
He cited Nigeria’s tax-to-GDP ratio of 8.2 per cent in 2023, compared with an average of about 16 per cent across 38 comparable African economies, as an indication of the country’s historically weak tax and compliance system.
Nwabueze, however, maintained that closing the gap would require more than enforcement, noting that taxpayers must understand, trust and willingly engage with the tax system.
He described the relationship between taxpayers and tax authorities as a “contract of responsibility on both sides,” under which citizens and businesses have an obligation to pay lawful taxes, while government must provide a tax administration that is fair, transparent, accountable and consistent with the law.
He said the Office of the Tax Ombud was established to address the trust gap by providing taxpayers with an independent channel to raise legitimate complaints and seek resolution.
Nwabueze stressed that the office was neither designed to encourage tax resistance nor to serve as an appendage of tax administration, but to protect taxpayers from arbitrary treatment and abuse of administrative powers.
Digitalisation Must Build Trust
On digitalisation, the Tax Ombud cautioned that moving tax processes online would not automatically create trust.
“Technology does not automatically create trust. It may create easiness, it may create confidence, but it has not solved the problem of that trust,” he said.
He warned against simply transferring complex paper-based procedures to digital platforms without making them simpler, accessible and responsive to taxpayers.
Nwabueze illustrated the challenge with the experience of a market trader in Ilorin who questioned how tax reform would benefit her when she continued to face multiple informal levies from different officials, including market permits, estate levies and other charges.
He said such experiences demonstrate why broad tax indicators would have limited meaning to ordinary Nigerians unless reforms translated into tangible improvements in their everyday interactions with tax authorities.
The Tax Ombud said accessible complaint resolution would remain one of the practical measures for determining whether the promises of tax reform were being delivered to taxpayers.
He added that with about 67 million BVN holders already captured in the formal tax net, stronger collaboration among banks, fintech companies and regulators would be necessary to ensure that expanded digital identification results in fairer, rather than merely more efficient, tax administration.
Nwabueze also pledged continued support for public awareness and taxpayer education, stressing that taxpayers who understand their rights would be better positioned to fulfil their responsibilities, while accountable tax authorities would strengthen the legitimacy of the system.
FICAN Urged To Track Impact Of Reforms
The Tax Ombud urged financial journalists to play a greater role in closing the trust gap by explaining the difference between lawful tax planning and tax evasion, investigating how administrative complaints are handled and reporting not only revenue collections but also how such revenues translate into visible public services.
He said the success of the tax reform agenda should ultimately be measured by whether taxpayers understand their obligations, legitimate complaints are fairly resolved and confidence in tax institutions improves.
Earlier, immediate past FICAN Chairman, Mr. Chima Nwokoji, linked the tax reform discussion to developments in Nigeria’s banking and capital markets.
Nwokoji noted that Nigerian banks raised a combined N4.65 trillion during the 24-month recapitalisation exercise, with about 73 per cent of the funds coming from domestic investors.
He compared the figure with the Dangote Refinery IPO, which is expected to raise about N2.15 trillion if fully subscribed, and raised questions about whether newly raised banking capital was translating into increased lending, job creation and foreign exchange generation.
He also noted that the implementation of Nigeria’s tax reforms would depend significantly on digital infrastructure, including the interbank settlement system and BVN framework.
Nwabueze was appointed Nigeria’s first Tax Ombudsman by President Bola Tinubu in November 2025 under the Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria (Establishment) Act, 2025.
The Office of the Tax Ombud has also reported receiving more than 20 genuine complaints within its first three months of operation, with many involving state-level revenue services.
Earlier in 2026, Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, unveiled the Office’s digital case management portal, website and toll-free call centre as part of efforts to make complaint resolution more accessible.
The Joint Revenue Board disclosed in July 2026 that 16 of Nigeria’s 36 states had adopted a harmonised Taxes and Levies framework aimed at reducing multiple taxation and promoting a more predictable tax environment.
