Category: Business

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-olu, has said that the new tax reforms, scheduled for implementation on January 1, 2026, are designed to create a system that fosters strong economic growth in Nigeria.

Sanwo-Olu stated this during the 2-day Tax Summit titled: “Reforms To Results, The Lagos Implementation Roadmap”, held in Lagos and organized by the Office of the Special Adviser, Taxation and Revenue, Lagos State.

He said the new tax reforms are designed to ensure fairness, predictability, and improved compliance.

He stated that the success of Nigeria’s tax reform agenda lies entirely in effective implementation at the sub-national level, stressing that the state has positioned itself as a leading driver of the reforms at this level.

“As the Federal Government advances reforms to harmonise tax laws, strengthen VAT administration, improve coordination across tiers of government, and separate tax policy from administration, Lagos State is positioning itself as a leading sub-national in the implementation of these reforms. Our focus is not merely compliance with new frameworks, but effective execution that delivers real value to citizens and businesses. This is why the theme of this Summit, ‘The Lagos Implementation Road Map’, is particularly significant. It signals our readiness to move beyond policy conversations to practical implementation. In Lagos, tax reform is being approached as a governance reform, anchored on simplicity, transparency, digital efficiency, and fairness.Taxation is ultimately a social contract. People comply willingly when they trust that the government is responsible, accountable, and responsive,” Sanwo-Olu said.

He stressed that Lagos State was ready to play its leadership role by aligning policy with practice, strengthening inter-governmental collaboration, and maintaining continuous engagement with the private sector and professional bodies.”

In his welcome remarks, the Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Taxation and Revenue, Abdul-Kabir Ogungbo, highlighted the solutions expected from the summit.

While paying tribute to the President for his audacious leadership, which has redefined economic governance, Ogungbo noted that his decisive steps to simplify tax laws, reduce multiplicity, strengthen institutions, and prioritise compliance over coercion demonstrate uncommon courage and foresight.

He described the summit as another important milestone in the state’s continuous engagement and collective effort to work in alignment with the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms.

He explained that the Lagos State government has undertaken extensive and productive engagements with key stakeholders across the Lagos State ecosystem, encompassing both the public and private sectors.

Highlighting the state’s position in the country’s economic dynamics, he said the state’s annual budgetary estimates should be higher.

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“It may interest us all to note that the cumulative budget of Conference 57, combined with the budget of the State Government, still revolves around less than N5trillion, which is below 10% of the Federal Government’s budget trajectory, despite the scale of responsibility borne by Lagos. This responsibility includes a disproportionate share of Nigeria’s population, economic activity, and infrastructure demand.

He stated that the summit was convened to demystify revenue and taxation reforms for the ordinary citizen.

“Tax reform is not intended to be ambiguous, cumbersome, or contradictory. Rather, it is designed to simplify processes, eliminate multiple and overlapping collections, and clearly delineate what should be collected by the State and what should be collected by Local Governments,” he said.

He said the implementation of the tax reforms was coming at an auspicious time, when the State government is mobilizing revenue to match the scale, complexity, and dynamism of the Lagos economy and its needs.

He said, “A critical outcome we therefore seek is the establishment of a standardised revenue portal across all Local Governments/LCDAs, seamlessly interfacing with State revenue systems and fully aligned with the national Tax Identification Number (TIN) framework, using the National Identification Number (NIN) as the foundational identifier within our ecosystem. For instance, a taxpayer in Ketu and another in Alimosho should be distinctly and uniquely identifiable within a centralized database,” he said.

In her remarks, the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, stated that sub-national governments have a critical role to play in the effective implementation of the tax reforms, urging the states and local governments to collaborate to ensure ease of compliance.

Oyedele also emphasized the need for sub-national governments to develop a credible data-gathering system that will help them improve tax revenue, plan more effectively, and address the infrastructural needs of their people.

Also speaking, the Commissioner of Finance, Lagos State, Abayomi Oluyomi, explained that tax reforms have progressed beyond the stage of theoretical policy formulation, but have now reached a point where the practical, granular challenge of implementation needs to be confronted.

Oluyomi noted that the success of this transition will not only impact the government’s capacity to fund infrastructure but also to deliver public services and improve the quality of life for residents of the state.