The Chairman of Nigeria’s Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, has revealed he faces death threats over his role in implementing the country’s sweeping tax reforms.
Oyedele disclosed this on Tuesday at a governance colloquium in Abuja, highlighting the challenges of pushing reforms that affect entrenched interests.
“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, emphasizing the need for exceptional courage in a system resistant to change.
He identified deep-seated mistrust of government, weak tax compliance culture, and poor public understanding of fiscal exchange as major obstacles to reform implementation.
Oyedele urged Nigerians who support the reforms to speak up, warning that silence allows opponents to dominate public discourse.
He explained that many Nigerians misunderstand the reforms, believing new taxes are being imposed when existing levies are being reduced and harmonized.
“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 harmonizing them,” he said.
The tax reform chief likened previous approaches to temporary fixes, saying: “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 are doing the surgery. It will come with pain, but it is the only right thing to do.” Despite facing online abuse and personal threats, Oyedele defended the reform strategy, expressing optimism about Nigeria’s direction
Persecondnews recalls that the federal government had commenced enforcement of the new tax regime on January 1, 2026, introducing four major 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.
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