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Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, has shed light on the difficulties encountered in engaging state governors regarding tax reforms.
Speaking during an interview on Arise TV, Oyedele detailed the committee’s efforts to involve state leaders and the obstacles faced in fostering collaboration.
According to Oyedele, while the committee sought to meet with governors from all six geopolitical zones, only the Lagos State Governor made himself available.
The Governor of Kaduna State also expressed willingness, but eventually, the Deputy Governor hosted the meeting in his stead.
“We wrote to meet with six governors, one from each geopolitical zone. Up until this moment, only the Governor of Lagos State was able to meet with us. The Governor of Kaduna State agreed, but on the scheduled date, it was the Deputy Governor who hosted us,” Oyedele said.
He also expressed frustration over the lack of commitment from other governors: “I won’t name the other governors, but they didn’t have time for us. The Governors Forum themselves invited us four times and canceled four times. The fifth time, we waited until 1:30 am, and when they finally met with us, we were given just 15 minutes.
Despite these challenges, Oyedele highlighted successful engagements with other stakeholders, including Commissioners of Finance and heads of internal revenue services across Nigeria.
“We had a half-day engagement with finance commissioners from across Nigeria and more than four engagements with heads of internal revenue services nationwide.”
