The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, has called for deeper collaboration among West African countries to strengthen tax administration, improve compliance with regional tax directives and enhance domestic revenue generation.
Oyedele made the call during a courtesy visit by a delegation of the West African Tax Administration Forum (WATAF), led by its Executive Secretary, Jules Tapsoba Sulio, to the Federal Ministry of Finance headquarters in Abuja.
Details of the meeting were contained in a statement issued on Tuesday by the minister’s Senior Special Assistant on Communications and Press, Mary-Ann Duke Okon.
According to the statement, the minister stressed the importance of regional cooperation as countries within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) continue efforts to broaden their tax bases, improve revenue collection and reduce dependence on borrowing and fluctuating commodity revenues.
He noted that stronger institutional partnerships and greater harmonisation of tax policies would also support ongoing reforms aimed at modernising tax administration across the region.
Commending WATAF for its contributions since its establishment in 2011, Oyedele urged the organisation to take a more active role in monitoring member states’ implementation of ECOWAS tax agreements.
He proposed the development of practical benchmarking tools and performance dashboards that would assess compliance with regional tax directives, promote accountability and encourage healthy competition among member countries.
According to him, such mechanisms would improve transparency, facilitate peer learning and help raise tax administration standards across West Africa.
The minister also encouraged WATAF to expand its benchmarking initiatives by identifying and documenting successful tax administration models across member states.
He said sharing best practices in areas such as digital tax administration, taxation of the informal sector and broader tax policy reforms would enable countries to learn from one another and accelerate ongoing reforms.
Earlier, WATAF Executive Secretary Jules Tapsoba Sulio congratulated Oyedele on his appointment and reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to supporting member countries in strengthening their tax systems.
Read also:
- Oyedele admits errors in Tax Reform.Acts, promises urgent fix
- Akwa Ibom Tax Reform Bills to ease burden on low-income earners, boost SMEs – Revenue Boss.
- Tax reforms not the problem, trust deficit is — MSSN
Sulio said WATAF would continue to provide technical assistance, capacity building, research support, digital transformation initiatives and other programmes aimed at improving tax administration across the region.
He also acknowledged Nigeria’s longstanding contributions to the regional tax body, describing the country’s financial, institutional and technical support as instrumental to WATAF‘s growth and development.
The statement added that both parties explored opportunities for expanded collaboration in areas including domestic revenue mobilisation, regional tax harmonisation, digital transformation and institutional capacity development.
The engagement forms part of broader regional efforts to strengthen tax governance, improve revenue collection and build more resilient economies across West Africa through closer cooperation and the adoption of modern tax administration practices.
