The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, says President Bola Tinubu has established the Office of the Tax Ombudsman to ensure equity, fairness and justice in the administration of taxes in the country.
Idris said this on Tuesday when the Nigeria’s Tax Ombudsman, Dr John Nwabueze, paid him a courtesy visit in Abuja.
Newsextra24 reports that Nwabueze’s visit was to partner with the ministry and its agencies to create public awareness on the roles of the Office of the Tax Ombudsman in the nation’s tax system.
The minister assured the tax Ombudsman that all the heads of the ministry’s agencies would help in using their platforms to ventilate the tax activities to the Nigerian public.
“Tax is a very essential component of our national development, indeed of any nation’s development. We know that the office is new and even for some of us, what the Ombud Office does is actually new.
“Tax administration is part of the major reform initiatives of President Bola Tinubu.
“I recall the early part of last year, when the issue of the tax reform was at the front burner of national discourse, it was indeed a very compulsive period.
“People who didn’t understand what tax administration or tax compliance or tax increase or whatever you call it, became really very negative towards it.”
The minister said the National Assembly had to go back to the drawing board to really begin the process of public enlightenment for people to really understand it.
“Because at that point, what we saw was that even those who were criticising the document hadn’t actually even seen the document.
“So there was misrepresentation and mischaracterisation and sometimes outright mischief about the whole programme.
“Because the President wants fairness in this issue of tax administration, he said, let us set up this Office of the Tax Ombud.
“Now, the Tax Ombud is not just there for the person collecting taxes. It is also there for the person who is paying taxes, ensuring that there is equity, fairness, and justice in the administration of taxes in this country.
“And this is where we think your role is principally. And for us as a ministry, we have a direct responsibility to making sure that Nigerians get to know about what you do, and how you do it,” the minister said.
The Nigeria’s Tax Ombudsman, Dr John Nwabueze, said the purpose of his visit was to seek the minister’s support and his team in enhancing public awareness of the Office of the Tax Ombud’s mandate and fostering collaboration to improve taxpayer education.
Nwabueze said the ministry and its agencies played a strategic role in deepening public communication, citizen’s engagement, national orientation and democratic accountability in Nigeria.
He commended the President for making policies that stabilised the nation’s economy and set it on the path of posterity.
According to him, the Office of the Tax Ombuds reflects the President’s ingenuity and foresight in pursuing additional tax reforms for fairness, accountability and efficiency.
“The establishment of this office under the new Nigerian tax administration framework represents a significant milestone in strengthening transparency, accountability, fairness and taxpayers’ confidence within our tax system.
“The office serves as an independent mechanism for addressing taxpayers’ complaints, resolving disputes fairly, protecting taxpayers’ rights and promoting trust between tax authorities and the citizens.”
The tax ombudsman said one of the greatest challenges confronting public institutions in Nigeria today was not only policy implementation but also public awareness and citizens’ understanding of government reforms and institutional mandates.
“This is why collaboration between the Office of the Tax Ombuds and the Federal Minister of Information, National Orientation has become strategic and imperative.
“We strongly believe that taxpayer education, public enlightenment and civic communication are critical to improving voluntary tax compliance and strengthening citizens’ trust in government institutions.
“Nigerians must clearly understand that the Office of the Tax Ombuds exists to ensure fairness, transparency and accountability in tax administration while also providing accessible channels for dispute resolution and complaints management.
“In this regard, we seek the support and collaboration of your Ministry in designing and implementing sustained public enlightenment campaigns across the traditional media, digital platforms, community outreach structures and national orientation programmes.
“Such collaboration will help educate citizens’ rights and responsibilities under Nigerian tax laws as well as on the important role of the Office of the Tax Ombuds in promoting justice, fairness and equity within the tax ecosystem.”
Present at the meeting were all heads of the agencies under the Ministry, including Managing Director of NAN, Malam Ali M. Ali, Director-General, National Orientation Agency (NOA), among others.
