Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu has called for a policy commitment by states to deliberately modify laws where necessary to enhance Nigeria’s goal of attaining a $1trillion economy.
Sanwo-Olu spoke yesterday in Abuja at the opening ceremony of the 27th Annual Tax Conference of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) with the theme “Taxation for Development: Policies, Law, and Implementation.”
The governor said that the bold initiatives introduced by President Bola Tinubu and strongly supported by Governors and members of the National Assembly, when it becomes law, would pave the way for a sustainable and prosperous future.
According to Sanwo-Olu, these efforts are expected to catalyse economic growth and national development.
Represented by his Special Adviser on Taxation and Revenue, Ogungbo Abdul-Kabir Opeyemi, the Governor stressed the need for sub-nationals not to only embrace the imminent tax laws but also lead the implementation drive.
He stated: “As we await constitutional approvals to the new tax reform bills, and earnestly looking forward to their full implementation, to my colleagues – leadership of sub-nationals, the clauses that puts a cap on income of employees at N800,000 per annum, before it can be subjected to Personal Income Tax (PIT), requires deliberate strategies to ensure taxpayers hiding in the MSME and startup sectors are brought into the tax net and intensify effort on Direct assessment drive for high net worth individuals to forestall the trend of tax evasion as witnessed across the country today. “It is imperative that as sub-nationals, we not only embrace but also lead the implementation drive. A policy commitment by sub-nationals to deliberately modify state laws where necessary, investment in data analytics, technological innovation, and human capital development are essential.
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“These elements are critical to realising the full potential of our tax reform efforts, enhancing fiscal capacity, and contributing meaningfully to Nigeria’s overarching goal of attaining a $1trillion economy.”
Sanwo-Olu said the theme of the conference aligned with the recent enactment of a new set of tax laws aimed at enhancing Nigeria’s tax management system.
“Furthermore, it underscores our collective commitment to the diligent implementation of these reforms, as passed by the National Assembly,” the governor stated.
He added: “There is no doubt that the bold initiatives introduced by His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and strongly supported by the Governors of sub-national entities and members of the National Assembly, when it becomes Law, will pave the way for a sustainable and prosperous future. These efforts are expected to catalyse economic growth and national development.”
The governor commended Tinubu for laying the foundation for Lagos state tax administration as governor.
Sanwo-Olu stated: “The transformational journey of Lagos State’s tax administration has become a benchmark for sub-national entities across Nigeria. The transformative initiative embarked upon during the tenure of the then Governor—now our President, His Excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu laid the foundation for the impressive fiscal performance and developmental strides that Lagos State continues to enjoy. The outcome of his strategic vision set Lagos State on a trajectory of consistent growth.
“Today, our consistency has led to achieving groundbreaking initiatives like the Lagos Revenue Portal (LRP) which harmonizes all our revenue sources, promotion of the use of NIN as a mandatory unique identification across entities, Revenue Al Chatbots for the engagement of citizenry and other stakeholders, the strategic integration of data analytics through cutting-edge technology, which set us apart as a data driven state.
“Our payer centric system successfully built in conveniences and transformed how taxpayers fulfill their obligations without leaving their place of comfort zones. This greatly promoted voluntary compliance, hence the N1trillion modest Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) stride achieved by Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS) in 2024 fiscal year.
“In addition to strategic partnership with Bank of Industry (BOI) leading to injection of 10 Billion Naira to enhance our MSME and provide enabling environment for our businesses to thrive , we also made giant stride to boost the effort in our energy self-sufficiency when in December 2024, Lagos State passed the Lagos State Electricity Law setting up the regulatory framework for an efficient and reliable electricity market in its environs, reducing reliance on the national grid and promoting energy self-sufficiency.
“From a humble start, Lagos now serves as a model in effective tax administration, demonstrating how sub-national governments can leverage fiscal reforms to drive development.
“I am confident that the discussions taking place at this conference and other related fora will lay the groundwork for a stronger and more resilient tax culture, one that will drive sustainable economic progress and move us toward a future of inclusive prosperity.”