Femi Falana, human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, has raised serious concerns over the country’s weak tax enforcement system, revealing that oil and gas companies owe Nigeria a staggering $6 billion in unpaid taxes.
Speaking on Wednesday during a paper presentation titled “Tax Law and Administration: Challenges of Compliance” at the ongoing 27th Annual Tax Conference of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) in Abuja, Falana criticised the federal government for allowing such massive revenue losses while continuing to borrow to fund national budgets.
He described the situation as evidence of poor financial accountability and called for greater transparency and representation in the country’s tax system.
The prominent human rights lawyer criticised the Nigerian tax system describing it as lacking the foundational principle of “taxation with representation.”
Speaking during a panel discussion on tax policy and public accountability, Falana said Nigeria’s approach to taxation is riddled with inefficiencies, opacity, and mismanagement that undermine public trust and discourage compliance.
Drawing historical parallels, Falana referenced the American and French revolutions, which were sparked in part by taxation without representation.
“In Nigeria, we cannot perform taxation without representation. If you want me to pay taxes, then why? Where is the representation, the justification, or the return to the people?”, he asked.
Falana lamented the proliferation of taxes in Nigeria, pointing out that some fiscal policies list as many as 60 different taxes, far beyond the original 25 outlined.
“No government needs 60 taxes,” he argued, describing the current framework as excessive and burdensome.
