Innocent Ohagwa, newly inaugurated president of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria, has urged tax professionals to take special interest in the tax reform bills as he highlighted inherent opportunities. Ohagwa made this call during his acceptance speech at his investiture ceremony held in Lagos.
The Nigerian tax reform bills, including the Nigeria Tax Bill, the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill, the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Bill, aim to modernise the Nigerian tax system and improve revenue collection. These bills have been passed by the National Assembly and are now awaiting presidential assent. In his Democracy Day speech at the National Assembly, President Bola Tinubu said that he looked forward to signing the bills, saying, “I am deeply grateful to both chambers for your thorough consideration and deliberation of these bills, and I look forward to signing them into law soon.”
Charging tax professionals on the benefits embedded in the bills, Ohagwa said, “We hereby commend the government of Nigeria under the leadership of the President and Commander-in-Chief, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, for setting up the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reform headed by Mr Taiwo Oyedele, whose comprehensive work yielded the four economic stabilisation bills that have been passed by both arms of the National Assembly and are awaiting presidential assent.
“Members of our Institute are encouraged, as a matter of deliberate effort, to ensure that they take passionate interest to seek and understand the contents of the four bills to enable them to maximise the opportunities that the tax reforms provide to tax professionals and stakeholders,” he said.
Meanwhile, the keynote address speaker, Professor Muhammad Mainoma, who was a former vice-chancellor of Nasarawa State University, Keffi, and Prime University, Abuja, delivered a paper on the theme ‘The Tax Professionals Of Tomorrow: Skills, Ethics And Innovation’.
He noted that the tax function has become increasingly integrated with other business processes such as corporate governance and sustainability, reporting, and digital transformation.
“At the same time, society demands a higher standard of ethical conduct from tax practitioners. In an age where public trust in institutions is fragile, tax professionals play a key role in ensuring fair and transparent taxation. Ethical lapses not only harm client interests but also damage public confidence in the tax system as a whole. As such, tomorrow’s tax professionals must be guided by strong ethical principles that balance legal compliance with social responsibility.”
