From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
Nigeria’s sweeping tax reforms are poised to unlock trillions of naira for investment in vital public services, marking a turning point in the nation’s fiscal future, a member of Nigeria’s Presidential Fiscal and Tax Reform Committee, Uche Uwaleke, has declared.
Speaking on “Promoting domestic resource mobilisation for the fulfilment of human rights: The case of Nigeria’s tax reforms” at the fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4) summit in Seville, Spain, he said explained that the new laws are expected to raise Nigeria’s tax-to-GDP ratio to 15% by 2027.
Addressing delegates at the at the Bridging the Gap: Linking Financing Solutions to Public Services Organised by Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (GI-ESCR), he explained that the sweeping tax reforms recently enacted by the Nigerian government, is a “turning point for Nigeria’s development and a foundation for fulfilling the country’s human rights obligations.”
He described the reforms as “a bold, pro-development agenda that will create the fiscal space needed to transform the lives of millions of Nigerians.”
“For a country like Nigeria — with a young, dynamic population and vast developmental needs – how we mobilize and allocate domestic resources directly impacts our ability to fulfill human rights obligations,” he stated.
Uwaleke argued that the new tax regime is not just about revenue, but about “building the fiscal capacity for government to meet its social contract with citizens and, by extension, human rights obligations.”
According to him, the reforms, signed into law by President Bola Tinubu, overhaul Nigeria’s tax system by consolidating multiple taxes, introducing digital-first administration, and exempting small businesses with annual turnover below N50 million from corporate income tax.