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Tax Conference: Sanwo-Olu, Zulum, Amosun, Other Experts Seek Transparent Tax System to Boost Internally Generated Revenues
Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and his counterparts from Sokoto and Borno States have emphasised the need to make the country’s tax system more transparent and accountable to Nigerians to boost confidence and voluntary compliance.
The governors made the call at the ongoing 26th Annual Tax Conference organized by the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) in Abuja, with the theme, “Sustainable Tax Culture and Economic Roadmap for Nation Building”.
Speaking at the conference, Governor Sanwo-Olu who was represented by his Special Adviser on Taxation and Revenue, Mr. Abdul-Kabir Opeyemi Ogungbo, said the theme of the Conference was apt and timely given that Nigeria, like many other nations, is currently facing significant economic challenges.
While underscoring the crucial role of a transparent and efficient tax administration in fostering confidence and voluntary compliance among taxpayers, he emphasized the necessity for citizens to witness tangible outcomes from their tax contributions, highlighting the pivotal role taxes play in fueling public services and infrastructural development.
Sanwo-Olu stressed the shift in mindset needed, urging taxpayers to view tax payments not as a burden but as an investment in a better future for Nigeria.
He said building a strong and sustainable future through a robust tax system that fosters economic growth and development had become inevitable.
Sanwo-Olu said, “We must all understand the crucial role taxes play in building a better Nigeria for ourselves and for generations to come.
“The theme also highlights the need for a clear economic roadmap which should take note of the architecture of our developmental ideologies as they are designed to provide the government with the necessary resources to cater for the social needs of its citizens, therefore we need a tax system that incentivizes investment, job creation, and economic diversification.
“We need to explore innovative ways to expand the tax base while fostering a business environment that allows our economy to thrive. The good news is that Nigeria is already taking positive steps in these directions. The recent efforts to streamline state-level taxes and the focus on integrating the growing remote workforce into the tax net are commendable initiatives.”
The governor said, “The CITN plays a vital role in fostering this vital shift. Your commitment to professional excellence and education is instrumental in ensuring a tax system that is fair, efficient, and promotes economic development.”
However, former Governor of Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, who declared the conference open, while stressing the need to prioritize growing Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) over relying solely on borrowing to fund national and sub-national budgets, said borrowing to fund the budgets was not the way to go amid the current national economic challenge when “our nation and its constituent states and local governments are going through very difficult times and finding it hard to provide for its teeming populace, acceptable standards of living, employment with the growing population of youths, infrastructure and basic amenities that will make life more meaningful”.
Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State criticized inefficiencies and corruption in the current tax administration system.
Zulum, represented by the Deputy Governor of Borno State, Umar Kadafur, highlighted the shortcomings of the current tax system, including tax evasion, avoidance, and lack of transparency.
He called for critical reforms to address these issues, including tackling corruption in both the oil sector and governance system. He criticized the political protection of tax evaders and emphasized the importance of transparency and accountability in tax administration.
While calling for critical reforms, he lamented the manipulation and connivance of multinationals with tax administration to short-change the system, he added that this represented one of the hallmarks of corruption in both the oil and governance system.
In his remarks, the Governor of Sokoto State, Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto, said the conference will greatly assist in exploring innovative ways of improving revenue generation in the country.
He said the economic and revenue challenges had made it difficult for governments at all levels to implement their people-oriented programmes, thus the need for the government to devise a means for more funds to provide the dividends of democracy to the people.
The governor said taxation remained a veritable source of resource mobilization for the government adding that his administration would work with CITN to boost IGR in the state.
The Auditor-General for the Federation (AuGF), Mr. Shaakaa Chira, said the country’s tax system was plagued by instances of tax evasion especially by the upper class, multiple taxation and inability to properly account for taxes collected by administrators.
The Chairman of the conference planning committee, Dr. Adeyemi Sanni, noted that for Nigeria to achieve meaningful fiscal development over the long term, it is imperative to establish a tax culture that can withstand economic fluctuations and challenges.
President and Chairman of the CITN council, Mr. Samuel Agbeluyi, emphasized the importance of investing in technology and people at the subnational level to effectively track revenues in the digital space, including cryptocurrency. This, he believes, will help maximize government revenue flow.
Mr. Agbeluyi stressed the need to provide support to revenue authorities through financial and administrative autonomy, empowering them to effectively administer taxes as he noted it is clear that a strategic approach to revenue management is crucial for the overall financial health of the government.
The CITN boss stated further, “This is a thought-provoking topic that requires all of us to put on our thinking hats. As we deliberate, we must recognize that our nation faces significant challenges. Our current economic realities as a country are multifaceted, despite efforts to improve the narrative by the current government.
He said, “The 2024 budget of “Renewed Hope” as we know relies significantly on non-oil revenue, and this trend is expected to continue in the future. Therefore, building a sustainable tax culture capable of significantly improving our tax revenue performance for an effective. economic and capital formation becomes a top priority.”
Nigeria and other Sub-Saharan Africa countries rank ninth out of nine global regions as Egypt has emerged as Africa’s leading country in artificial intelligence readiness, ranking first on the continent and 51st globally in the 2025 Government AI Readiness Index published by Oxford Insights.
The impressive ranking has been lauded as underscoring North Africa’s growing influence in the global AI race.
According to Egypt’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), the country scored 57.5 points out of 100, climbing 14 places from 65th in 2024.
The Nile nation also ranked fourth in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, behind Saudi Arabia, Israel and the United Arab Emirates.
The Oxford Insights index assesses 195 governments using 69 indicators across six pillars, including policy capacity, governance, AI infrastructure, public sector adoption, development and diffusion, and resilience.
Egypt topped the Policy Capacity pillar globally with a perfect score of 100, tying with the UK, Serbia and Australia, an indicator of strong national AI policymaking and institutional readiness.
Oxford Insights noted that countries such as Egypt are “expanding the use of AI across national priorities while shaping policies to strengthen domestic AI ecosystems,” although gaps in infrastructure and talent development remain in some contexts.
MCIT minister Amr Talaat attributed Egypt’s strong performance to deliberate government action.
“This achievement reflects our efforts to integrate artificial intelligence into public services and accelerate digital transformation through Egypt’s second National AI Strategy. We are positioning Egypt as a regional AI hub while ensuring AI delivers real economic and social value,” he said.
Launched for 2025–2030, Egypt’s National AI Strategy targets sectors such as healthcare, justice and public administration, while aiming to train 30 000 AI specialists by 2030 and raise AI’s contribution to GDP to 7.7%.
Talaat also highlighted Egypt’s cybersecurity credentials when he highlighted that the country ranked among the top 12 globally in the ITU’s Global Cyber security Index.
Regionally, the results expose sharp contrasts across Africa. Sub-Saharan Africa ranks ninth out of nine global regions, with an average score of 28.04, reflecting persistent gaps in AI infrastructure and public sector adoption.
However, countries such as Kenya, South Africa, Mauritius and Nigeria lead the sub-region, while Rwanda and Ethiopia are gaining momentum through innovation hubs and policy reforms.
In contrast, the MENA region ranks fifth globally, buoyed by significant investment in AI infrastructure and policy capacity, particularly in Gulf states.
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has dragged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to court over the alleged failure to account for ₦55.9 billion reportedly meant for the procurement of election materials for the 2019 general elections.
The grave allegations are documented in the latest annual report published by the Auditor-General on 9 September 2025.
In the suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/38/2026 filed last Friday at the Federal High Court in Abuja, SERAP is seeking: “an order of mandamus to direct and compel INEC to account for the missing or diverted N55.9 billion meant to buy smart card readers, ballot papers, and other election materials for the 2019 general elections.”
SERAP is also seeking: “an order of mandamus to direct and compel INEC to disclose the names of all contractors paid the N55.9 billion for the procurement of smart card readers, ballot papers, result sheets, and other election materials for the 2019 general elections, including the names of their directors and shareholders.”
In the suit, SERAP is arguing that: “INEC must operate without corruption if the commission is to ensure free and fair elections in the country and uphold Nigerians’ right to participation.”
SERAP is also arguing that, “INEC cannot ensure impartial administration of future elections if these allegations are not satisfactorily addressed, perpetrators including the contractors involved are not prosecuted and the proceeds of corruption are not fully recovered.”
According to SERAP, “INEC cannot properly carry out its constitutional and statutory responsibilities to conduct free and fair elections in the country if it continues to fail to uphold the basic principles of transparency, accountability and the rule of law.”
SERAP is also arguing that, “These allegations also constitute abuse of public office and show the urgent need by INEC to commit to transparency, accountability, clean governance and the rule of law.”
SERAP also said, “Allegations of corruption in the supply of smart card readers, ballot papers, result sheets and other election materials directly undermine Nigerians’ right to participate in elections that are free, fair, transparent, and credible.”
The lawsuit filed on behalf of SERAP by its lawyers, Kolawole Oluwadare, Kehinde Oyewumi, and Andrew Nwankwo, read in part: “These grim allegations by the Auditor-General suggest a grave violation of the public trust, the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended] and international anticorruption standards.”
“According to the recently published 2022 audited report by the Auditor General of the Federation (AGF), the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ‘irregularly paid’ over N5.3 billion [N5,312,238,499.39] ‘to a contractor for the supply of Smart Card Readers for the 2019 general elections’.
“The contract was awarded without prior approval from the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) and the Federal Executive Council. The payment was also ‘made without any document. There was no evidence of supplies to the commission.’”
Federal government has inaugurated a ₦40 billion closed-circuit television (CCTV) control centre for the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos.
Speaking at the inauguration on Sunday, David Umahi, minister of Works, said the project followed extensive rehabilitation works carried out on the bridge after the current administration took office in 2023.
“When we came on board in 2023, we met a very terrible Third Mainland Bridge,” Umahi said, adding that the structure, along with Carter and Iddo bridges, required comprehensive re-evaluation and repairs both above and below water level.
He said President Bola Tinubu approved the total rehabilitation of the bridge, including replacement of expansion joints, noting that the completed work had improved driving conditions and extended the bridge’s lifespan.
Umahi said the CCTV system, first announced in 2025, was designed to curb dangerous driving, prevent suicide attempts and strengthen security.
He added that security personnel would monitor live footage from the control centre and enforce speed limits on the bridge.
The minister commended the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), which executed the project, for what he described as high-quality delivery. He said the contract also included a surveillance boat and two Hilux vans, which would be handed over to the police to support monitoring and rapid response.
“The idea is that we can see everything that is happening on the bridge,” Umahi said, expressing concern over excessive speeding and urging motorists to comply with traffic regulations.
Earlier, Olufemi Dare, federal controller of works in Lagos, said the facility was the first of its kind on any bridge in Nigeria.
He said the system allows real-time monitoring of activities on the bridge and surrounding waters.
Dare said the project includes 240 solar panels, 10 inverters, a 300 KVA transformer, a standby generator, multiple monitoring screens and full air-conditioning for the control centre.
He added that the contract also covers 1,268 solar-powered street lights and a borehole facility.
According to Dare, the project was awarded at a cost of ₦40.17 billion, with about ₦36 billion paid so far to the contractor. He said the current inauguration marked the first phase, with additional commissioning planned once work on the bridge’s extension is completed.
He thanked the president for approving the project and praised Umahi for ensuring due process during its execution.
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