The Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, has disclosed that he has received threats to his life over his role in driving Nigeria’s sweeping tax reform agenda.
Oyedele made the revelation in Abuja on Tuesday while speaking at a governance colloquium organised to mark the 50th birthday of the Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination, Hajiya Hadiza Bala-Usman.
According to him, implementing reforms that challenge entrenched interests requires exceptional courage, particularly within a system that has long resisted change.
“Reforms are hard, and tax reforms are even harder. You need courage. I receive threats simply for trying to fix a broken system,” Oyedele said.
He identified deep mistrust of government, weak tax compliance culture, and poor public understanding of fiscal exchange as some of the major obstacles confronting the reform process.
Oyedele noted that Nigeria’s tax revenue remains significantly lower than that of comparable countries, making comprehensive reforms unavoidable.
He urged Nigerians who support the reforms to be more vocal, warning that silence allows opponents to dominate public debate and spread misinformation.
Describing trust as the biggest challenge, Oyedele said many Nigerians wrongly believe that the government is introducing new taxes, when in reality existing taxes are being reduced and harmonised.
“There is suddenly a national awareness, and people say the government has brought taxes all over the place, when in fact what we are doing is reducing the taxes they have been paying and harmonising them,” he explained.
The reform committee chairman acknowledged that the process carries serious political, economic and reputational risks.
“You need the courage to push through. You need the courage to take risks, because it’s very risky,” he said.
Despite facing online attacks and personal threats, Oyedele defended the reform strategy, describing previous approaches to taxation as temporary solutions that failed to address structural problems.
“What we have been doing all my adult life with the tax system was a pain reliever. It hasn’t taken us far. Now we’re doing the surgery. It will come with pain, but it is the only right thing to do,” he said.
He expressed optimism about Nigeria’s current trajectory, describing the ongoing reform drive as unprecedented and calling on citizens to remain committed to achieving long-term fiscal stability.
The Federal Government formally began enforcing the new tax regime on January 1, 2026, following the enactment of four key laws: the Nigeria Tax Act 2025, the Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025, the Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Act 2025, and the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Act 2025.
