The chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms in Nigeria, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, has said Nigeria would have collapsed economically if President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had not embarked on the key economic reforms around subsidies and the floating of the naira.
Oyedele, who made the claims while speaking at the Interactive Session with Civil Society on the new Tax Reform Acts in Abuja, said the country was in a very precarious situation as of May 2023.
Nigeria’s tax landscape is undergoing significant changes, driven by a combination of regulatory reforms, increased enforcement activities and evolving global tax standards.
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According to the tax expert, “Those reforms have not been done as we speak today. You will not recognise Nigeria; we will not be talking about naira at N1,500. Maybe Naira will be N4,500 if we can find dollars at all.
“We will not be talking about PMS. A litre will be more than N5,000. Inflation will not be in the 20%. It will be happy to see inflation at about 60%. We were using all our revenue to service debt, 97%
He pointed at the poor external reserve situation that saw net reserves at under $4 billion and the inability of the central bank of Nigeria to meet dollar obligations that saw backlogs piling to over $7 billion.
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Oyedele said, “We had two options; one option was to continue and then move towards a total collapse, which, in my estimation, was about six months to one year away, or we take full but necessary decisions about reforms, and then things will get worse, and then things will get better.”
“So going out to the media or the public as a politician to say our life is not better today as it was 2 years ago and therefore the reform has failed is a deliberate attempt to mislead the public.”
Sunday Michael Ogwu is a Nigerian journalist and editor of Pinnacle Daily. He is known for his work in business and economic reporting. He has held editorial roles in prominent Nigerian media outlets, where he has focused on economic policy, financial markets, and developmental issues affecting Nigeria and Africa more broadly.
