The Chief Executive of the Office of the Tax Ombud, Dr John Nwabueze, has cautioned taxpayers against attempting to use the agency to escape or postpone the payment of legitimate taxes and other statutory obligations.
Nwabueze gave the warning on Tuesday at the North-West Zonal Stakeholders’ Engagement Meeting held in Kaduna, where tax and revenue authorities, business organisations and professional bodies gathered to discuss challenges in tax administration.
He explained that the Office of the Tax Ombud was created under the Federal Tax Ombud Act as an independent, impartial and non-judicial institution responsible for receiving and reviewing complaints relating to taxes, levies, regulatory fees and charges, customs, excise and duties.
According to him, the agency’s role is to provide taxpayers with an independent avenue for resolving administrative, procedural and service-related grievances in the tax system.
Nwabueze said, “It is important to clarify what we do not do. The Tax Ombud is not a mechanism for cancelling legitimate tax liabilities merely because the taxpayer does not wish to pay.
“We do not make tax policy. We do not encourage non-compliance. We do not shield taxpayers from their lawful obligations and we are certainly not the courts.”
He noted that the agency’s mandate was focused mainly on the operational, procedural and administrative aspects of tax and revenue administration.
“When a taxpayer has a dispute, the first question is simply not whether the tax is payable. It is also whether the process through which that obligation to tax is assessed has been fair, lawful, transparent and consistent,” he said.
The Tax Ombud chief added that taxpayers must first exhaust lawful internal dispute-resolution mechanisms where such processes are required before seeking the intervention of the agency.
He said the office could step in when operational, procedural, administrative or service-related concerns warranted independent review.
“Pay what the law requires, know your rights, and where the administration of that obligation becomes an issue, seek redress,” Nwabueze stated.
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He disclosed that the agency had rolled out a digital complaint portal, case management system and toll-free call centre, alongside other channels aimed at improving access for taxpayers seeking to lodge complaints.
“Our services are free of charge to taxpayers. Additionally, the law allows the Tax Ombud to institute a lawsuit on behalf of the taxpayer. That service is also free of charge to taxpayers,” he said.
Nwabueze said the Kaduna engagement was designed to move discussions beyond identifying problems in tax administration and towards practical measures for improving the relationship between taxpayers and revenue authorities.
He urged stakeholders to strike a balance between taxpayers’ responsibility to obey tax laws and revenue authorities’ obligation to administer those laws fairly.
He said, “How can we ensure that rural taxpayers, small businesses, informal traders and people with disabilities have effective access to information and redress?
“How can complaint data be used to identify recurring administrative weaknesses and improve the tax system?”
He further called for stronger cooperation among professional associations, the media, civil society groups and other stakeholders to improve taxpayer awareness and encourage compliance.
Meanwhile, the Kaduna State Commissioner for Finance, Mohammed Ibrahim Tanko, disclosed that the North-West region generated approximately ₦916bn in tax revenue between 2023 and 2025, with Kaduna State accounting for about ₦220bn.
Tanko, who represented Governor Uba Sani at the meeting, linked Kaduna’s revenue performance to sustained engagement with stakeholders and voluntary compliance, rather than forceful enforcement.
He said, “We have done that without unnecessary and brutal follow-up to people. We were able to achieve this through detailed stakeholder engagement that led to voluntary compliance by our people.
“It is a clear and significant indication that you can generate enough revenue that you require without necessarily doing any brutal enforcement.”
The commissioner also urged the Tax Ombud to open a zonal office in Kaduna, arguing that its establishment would make the agency more accessible to taxpayers and revenue authorities across the North-West.