Taiwo Oyedele, chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, has emphasized that every Nigerian who earns an income regardless of occupation has a legal obligation to declare it for taxation.
Speaking during an interactive session with journalists, influencers, and public analysts on Friday, Oyedele clarified widespread misconceptions surrounding the four new tax reform bills signed into law by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on June 26, which are set to take effect from January 1, 2026.
He explained that the requirement to “self-declare” income is not a new directive but a provision already established under existing tax laws. “Sex workers, agberos you know what I said is everybody has the responsibility to self-declare. That is the first obligation in the law,” he said.
Oyedele further noted that the recent tax reforms are not designed to impose new taxes on individuals who were not previously taxable. “If I am an agbero, calling people to enter vehicles and getting paid, how is that different from a waiter, an accountant, or a factory worker? We cannot say agberos are exempted from tax. I know the sex worker issue is being sensationalised,” he added.
He stressed that globally, tax laws do not exempt individuals based on the morality or legality of their income source. “There are court judgments all over the world saying that when it comes to tax matters, there are no questions about morality or legality,” he explained. “Otherwise, people will just make their work illegal so they don’t pay tax.”
Citing an example, Oyedele referenced the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which requires individuals to declare all income including stolen funds for tax purposes.
He also pointed out that the government’s new fiscal system can detect undeclared earnings through spending and financial transactions. “If the agbero does not declare and the journalist does not declare, how do we find out? It’s through system validation because when you earn money, you either spend, save, or invest it. All those actions involve third parties and can be verified,” he explained.
Oyedele concluded that the new framework focuses solely on income whether derived from goods or services and not on the legitimacy or morality of its source.
