Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Taiwo Oyedele, has said Nigeria now spends less than 50 per cent of its revenue on debt servicing, a sharp drop from 97 per cent before the Tinubu administration’s reforms.
Speaking at PwC’s Executive Summit in Lagos on Monday, July 21, Oyedele listed key improvements, including clearing over $7 billion in unmet forex obligations, boosting external reserves from below $4 billion to over $20 billion, and reducing budget deficits.
He noted that the country’s tax-to-GDP ratio has also grown to 13.5 per cent, up from under 10 per cent.
Oyedele warned that, without these reforms, Nigeria could have faced economic collapse like Venezuela or Zimbabwe.
He referenced a Zimbabwean banknote of 100 trillion dollars, which once bought just a loaf of bread, as an example of hyperinflation.
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He said mismanagement by past governments, including spending trillions on fuel subsidies and printing over ₦30 trillion, nearly brought the economy to ruin.
According to him, if reforms had begun 10 years earlier, Nigeria could have become a $1 trillion economy with a stronger naira and cheaper fuel.
On taxation, Oyedele said only the top three per cent of Nigeria’s informal sector could afford to pay taxes.
As part of the reforms, the bottom 97 per cent have been legally exempted to reduce pressure on low-income earners. However, he warned tax evaders would be punished.
The new tax laws, signed by President Bola Tinubu on June 26, will take effect from January 1, 2026.
PwC leaders at the summit said the reforms provide a strong framework, but success will require full collaboration between the government, private sector, and citizens to simplify compliance and foster sustainable growth.