The chairman of the presidential committee on tax policy and fiscal reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, has clarified that state governors were consulted during the drafting of the tax reform bills.
Oyedele made this clarification on Monday during a town hall meeting hosted by Channels Television, where he was asked about the possibility of using a consultant like Alpha-Beta for tax collection.
According to Oyedele, the committee had a session with the governors’ forum and consulted with individual governors, who have acknowledged that they were consulted.
However, the governors have requested for more consultation, which Oyedele agrees with, stating that consideration will never end, even after passing the bills.
“We had one session with the governors’ forum. We consulted the governors. They won’t say we didn’t consult them. They are saying we need to consult more, which we agree with, because consideration will never end. Even after passing the bills, you must continue to consult,” Oyedele said.
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In addition to consulting with governors, Oyedele revealed that the committee had two sessions with the national economic council and almost a whole day with finance commissioners from all over Nigeria.
Oyedele also used the opportunity to dispel rumors that the government plans to engage Alpha-Beta Consulting or any other consultant for tax collection. He emphasized that reliance on consultants for tax collection is a significant challenge in the Nigerian economy, and no government should rely on consultants for tax collection.
“In fact, we had a very interesting debate at the committee level. I wanted to put a language in the law that says no government should use a consultant to collect tax. We think that that is one of the biggest problems in our economy today,” Oyedele said.
“So I can confirm to you 100 percent there is no plan whatsoever in using consultant to do any of this.”
According to Oyedele, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) already has the necessary infrastructure to handle tax collection efficiently, particularly through its TaxPro Max platform. He noted that the system requires only minor adjustments to accommodate the proposed reforms.
“All that we need to do once we pass these bills, go to that system and amend the language, the algorithm, so that next time MTN is filing VAT returns, there is a request that says tell me the state where they have emanated from,” Oyedele explained.
He added that the same process would apply to other large corporations, such as Dangote Group and financial institutions, ensuring compliance without the need for external consultants.
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