Minister Hails Tax Ombud Office As Key Reform Under Tinubu Admin.

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ABUJA – The Minister of Informa­tion and National Orien­tation, Mohammed Idris, has described the Office of the Tax Ombud as a major institutional reform initia­tive of the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu aimed at ensuring fairness, transparency, and accountability in Nigeria’s tax system.

Rabiu Ibrahim, Special Assistant (Media) to the Minister of Information and National Orientation, in a statement on Tuesday, said the minister stated this during a courtesy visit on Tuesday with the lead­ership of the Office of the Tax Ombud and heads of agencies under the Feder­al Ministry of Information and National Orientation in Abuja.

According to the min­ister, the Office of the Tax Ombud represents the Fed­eral Government’s com­mitment to building trust between taxpayers and tax authorities through medi­ation, fairness, and public accountability.

“Tax administration is a very essential component of national development. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu established the Of­fice of the Tax Ombud to ensure fairness, equity, and justice in the administra­tion of taxes in Nigeria,” the minister said.

He noted that the minis­try convened the meeting to strengthen collaboration and raise public awareness of the Tax Ombud’s role. “We need to bring aware­ness to Nigerians about what the Office of the Tax Ombud is supposed to do and the contribution it will make towards national de­velopment. That is why we brought together the heads of our key agencies to sup­port this public enlighten­ment effort,” he stated.

The minister explained that misconceptions about tax reforms initially led to resistance because many critics did not fully under­stand the policies.

“When the tax reform initiative was introduced, there was a lot of misun­derstanding, misrepre­sentation, and even out­right mischief because many people criticising the reforms had not even seen the documents. That is why public enlighten­ment is very important,” he said.

Speaking on the broad­er economic reforms of the Tinubu administration, the minister said the removal of fuel subsidy and foreign exchange reforms had al­ready begun yielding mea­surable results across the country.

“When President Tinu­bu took office, many states struggled to pay salaries, and infrastructure in­vestment was almost at a standstill. Today, states have more resources to meet obligations, invest in development, and support their people because of these reforms,” he said.

The minister also high­lighted improvements in investor confidence and Ni­geria’s international eco­nomic standing under the current administration. “For the first time in over 13 years, Nigeria’s foreign reserves have crossed the 50 billion dollar mark. In­ternational rating agencies are now looking at Nigeria positively, investors are re­turning, and the country has been removed from the Financial Action Task Force grey list. These are clear signs that the reforms are working,” he added.

He assured the Office of the Tax Ombud of the min­istry’s full support through its agencies, including the Nigerian Television Au­thority (NTA), Federal Ra­dio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Voice of Nigeria (VON), and the Na­tional Orientation Agency (NOA).

“As a ministry, our duty is to connect government policies with Nigerians so they can understand the benefits of those pol­icies. We will continue to work with the Office of the Tax Ombud to ensure Nigerians understand its mandate and how it pro­tects both taxpayers and government institutions,” the minister said.

Earlier, the Chief Ex­ecutive of the Office of the Tax Ombud, Dr John .C. Nwabueze, said the office was established to strengthen fairness, ac­countability, and transpar­ency within Nigeria’s tax administration system.

“The Office of the Tax Ombud serves as an inde­pendent mechanism for resolving taxpayers’ com­plaints, protecting taxpay­ers’ rights, and promoting trust between tax author­ities and citizens. We be­lieve taxpayer education and public enlightenment are essential to improving voluntary tax compliance and strengthening confi­dence in government in­stitutions,” he said.

Dr. Nwabueze said the office was seeking to col­laborate with the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation to drive sustained pub­lic awareness campaigns across traditional media, digital platforms, and community outreach pro­grammes.

He added that the of­fice’s work aligns close­ly with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, particularly in institutional reforms, economic governance, ac­countability, and improved service delivery.

Those present at the meeting included the Di­rector-General of the Na­tional Orientation Agency (NOA), Mallam Lanre Is­sa-Onilu; Director-General of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Salihu Abdulhamid Dembos; Di­rector General of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Ali Muhammad Ali; Direc­tor-General of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nige­ria (FRCN), Dr. Mohammed Bulama; Director-General of the Voice of Nigeria (VON), Jibrin Baba Ndace, and other senior govern­ment officials.