The Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, has provided new insights into how Nigeria’s forthcoming tax intelligence system will track financial behaviour to detect tax evasion.
Speaking on The Micon Podcast, Oyedele explained that the upgraded framework will aggregate multiple data sources to create a comprehensive overview of individuals’ financial activities.
“This is the whole essence of the intelligence we are trying to piece together—what happens in your bank account, when you travel abroad, how you use your payment card, electricity, your phone. All of that information,” he said.
He emphasized that the system is not designed to target low-income earners or minor financial inconsistencies.
“Government will not go after you if you earn 50k and spend 90k. They are not looking for small money. It’s not worth it. The focus is on big numbers,” he clarified.
According to Oyedele, once the system validates financial footprints and identifies discrepancies, authorities will be able to determine whether taxes have been properly paid.
“By the time the system validates what you’re doing, we will know if you have not paid tax. And if you cannot explain yourself, and your tax is ₦1 million, under the new tax law next year, if you have a bank account, we can debit it,” he stated.
He added that the new enforcement approach marks a shift from crude, forceful tax collection methods toward a more professional, technology-driven model—moving away from “using hammers and nails to chase people for tax.”
