Tax Ombud, OGFZA move to clear tax hurdles for investors

From Adannna Nnamani, Abuja

The Office of the Tax Ombud and the Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority (OGFZA) have agreed to strengthen collaboration to boost investor confidence and attract more foreign direct investment (FDI) into Nigeria’s oil and gas free zones.

The partnership is expected to address tax and fee-related grievances through effective mediation and dispute resolution, with the aim of creating a fair, transparent and predictable tax environment for investors.

This was contained in a statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to the Tax Ombud, Chukwudi Achife, on Thursday.

The Tax Ombud/Chief Executive, Dr. John C. Nwabueze, disclosed the planned collaboration during a courtesy visit to OGFZA, where he said the partnership would help promote an investor-friendly tax administration within the country’s oil and gas free zones.

Nwabueze said the two agencies could work together in areas including taxpayer complaint resolution, clarification of tax incentives, review of systemic complaints, and promotion of transparency and accountability.

He said such measures would encourage voluntary tax compliance and contribute to efforts to increase Nigeria’s tax-to-GDP ratio, which he described as critical to national development and consistent with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The Tax Ombud said OGFZA’s mandate to regulate and coordinate activities in the zones, grant permits and licences, administer incentives and resolve stakeholder disputes complemented the role of the Office of the Tax Ombud.

He explained that his office provides an independent channel for reviewing and resolving complaints relating to taxes, levies, regulatory fees, customs duties and excise matters.

According to him, addressing such grievances promptly would help reduce uncertainty for investors and strengthen confidence in Nigeria’s investment environment.

Responding, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of OGFZA, Alhaji Usman Jada, said investors in the country’s oil and gas free zones had benefited from incentives, tax exemptions and customs duty concessions introduced by the Federal Government to encourage sustainable FDI inflows.

Jada said the incentives were also designed to promote private-sector investment in infrastructure and create employment opportunities.

He described the proposed collaboration with the Tax Ombud as timely, saying it would support OGFZA’s mandate and help build investor confidence, particularly within the special economic zones being promoted by the Authority.

As part of efforts to turn the proposed partnership into concrete action, the two agencies have appointed liaison officers to coordinate their activities and facilitate the implementation of the collaboration.

The partnership is expected to strengthen tax dispute resolution, improve the investment climate and support increased economic activities within Nigeria’s oil and gas free zones.