Chairman of the Presidential Tax and Fiscal Policy Reform, Taiwo Oyedele, discussed ongoing initiatives to streamline multiple taxes at the state and local government levels, emphasizing the need to engage all stakeholders, including Area Boys, to prevent potential crises stemming from the suspension of multiple taxes.
In an interview with Channels TV, Oyedele proposed training Area Boys for tax collection roles, compensating them with salaries.
He sees potential benefits from such training, suggesting that it could equip them with skills that may lead to alternative employment opportunities.
He stated, “We’re also thinking about how you bring all stakeholders on board because at the end of the day, if you stop the livelihood of anyone, whether they are earning it legitimately or not, you can create crises that would be difficult to manage, but once you bring everybody in, maybe we need to train those area boys and touts, give them uniforms, and then they’ll be the ones to ask you to show the evidence on your phone, right? And then they get paid a decent salary.
“And if you give them the skills, some of them will on their own, move on from that job to something else, right? So, our strategy is let’s think about what’s best for our country and get all stakeholders to align. We do think that all the stakeholders, including the government, want the best for their country, and we just need to make them see that big picture and then come along with us. That’s the plan that we have.”
Providing an update on the recommendations submitted by the Tax Reform Committee, Oyedele acknowledged that fiscal policy matters take time but expressed a desire for faster progress.
He highlighted the Emergency Economic Intervention Bill as a significant instrument to implement recommendations, aiming to amend various laws and bring about crucial changes for economic stability.
“In fairness to the lawmakers, we haven’t presented the bills to them. And that was also because once they had the budget for 2024, it became their priority. And we are aware that they were working around the clock just to get the budget out of the way. But now that that’s out of the way, we want to try and prioritize this and send the bill to them and for them to also pass it as a matter of urgency. So the Nigerian people can begin to feel the positive impact sooner rather than later, you know,” Oyedele commented
