Taiwo Oyedele, Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, revealed that he and his family have been subjected to curses from Nigerians angered by the proposed tax reform bills.
Speaking on Thursday, December 19, in Abuja during the presentation of a report by a technical committee set up by the League of Northern Democrats (LND) to review the contentious bills, Oyedele maintained that the backlash would not deter him from carrying out his public service mandate.
“Even on social media, you need to see the number of people cursing me and my family. I don’t take it personally. I just go through and say is there any useful comment that we can work on? We pick it and we work on it. It’s public service. You’re not meant to be appreciated and praised every time. It doesn’t happen anywhere in the world,” Oyedele stated.
The tax reform bills have sparked heated debates across Nigeria, with significant opposition emerging from the North. Some governors and regional leaders argued that the reforms are skewed to favor Lagos State and other select interests while disadvantaging the North. The controversy even led to open confrontations in the National Assembly.
Addressing these concerns, Oyedele emphasized the independence and inclusivity of his committee’s work.
“Public service is public service. You are accountable to the people and you must take that very seriously. So our approach to this is that some Nigerians were asked to do this for our country and I had the privilege of leading that team and we did our best but we’re not in any way suggesting that our best is the best for Nigeria.
“You cannot have more than 200 million people and you then assume that about 100 people are the smartest. You know that that would be arrogance at a different level. So this engagement helped us to even improve the quality of what we have done,” he explained.
He further assured that the recommendations were entirely the product of robust debates within the committee, without influence from external bodies or individuals.
“I’ve said this in a number of fora and I’ll say it again. There’s not a single person in the world, not World Bank, not IMF, not United Nations, not Mr President, not any governor, not any minister, past or present, not president, past or present, no one dictated anything to us. Every single thing you see in all those bills were the outcome of debates by the committee that is representative nationally,” Oyedele said.
The chairman reiterated the need for ongoing engagement even after the bills are enacted, acknowledging that no law is perfect.
“So, I’m eagerly looking forward to the outcome of this event today and I can give you one assurance. Every single point you send to us will be carefully considered and we’ll get back to you with our own explanations. So once we have superior reasoning and superior arguments, we bow to it very quickly because we have no agenda other than the agenda for Nigeria,” he added.
Oyedele’s remarks underscored his commitment to transparency and continuous dialogue, even as he faces criticism over the contentious reforms.
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