By Joyce Remi-Babayeju
The National Orientation Agency (NOA) has affirmed its commitment to drive public support for the effective implementation of the tax reforms of the federal government, whose implementation kicks off in January 2026 when the new Tax Act comes into effect.
Director General of the NOA, Malam Lanre Issa-Onilu, made this commitment on behalf of the agency when members of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, led by its chairman, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, paid a courtesy visit to the NOA in Abuja yesterday.
Issa-Onilu noted that technology has made it easy for mischievous people to effortlessly spread fake news and wrong narratives about the new tax laws.
He therefore emphasized the importance of sensitizing Nigerians to the benefits of the tax laws to counter the wrong narratives spread by those who are either genuinely ignorant of its provisions or those acting out of mischief and an ulterior motive to undermine the efforts of the government to improve the tax system.
The NOA DG said the new tax law will be beneficial to Nigerians as it specifically addresses the issue of double taxation that companies, businesspeople, workers, individuals, and investors are presently experiencing, among many other things.
The DG underscored NOA’s ability to reach wide audiences across the country with its advocacy and national enlightenment campaigns, noting that the Agency had a wide spread of offices across the country with competent staff who regularly embark on community mobilisation and sensitisation to promote government policies and national values.
He also highlighted the ability of the NOA to work intelligently, identifying the different demographics across the country and applying the communication models appropriate to reach and appeal to each demographic.
“We have done mapping across the country for engagements with all Nigerians; that is why we can engage groups such as associations, CSOs, traders union, leaders, women groups, youths, and many others”, he said. “We do engagements with different groups across the country, and our staff are usually chosen from among the people so the people trust them; that is part of the advantage we have.”
Malam Issa-Onilu also highlighted the extensive partnerships with media houses that the NOA enjoyed across the country as part of its strength to communicate policies to every nook and cranny in the country. “We work with over 200 radio stations across the country, and partner with 36 television stations, all together broadcasting in about 72 local languages,” he revealed.
In addition, Issa-Onilu pointed out that the NOA was leveraging modern technology, including the use of artificial intelligence, to disseminate government information. “We launched our version of ChatGPT called CLHEEAN, a special voice chat assistant where Nigerians can engage and get authentic information on all government policies,” he told the NOA guests.
Concluding, the NOA DG declared that “these are tools we have to assist and support the committee in sensitizing Nigerians on the new tax laws.”
Earlier, Mr. Oyedele of the Tax Reforms Committee had revealed that his team was at the NOA to seek support for the committee in pushing out the right information about the new tax laws and countering the wrong narrative that was pervasive in the media and other public spaces.
He said, “We believe that working together with NOA will ensure the passage of accurate information to Nigerians, even to those at the grassroots, to know the benefits of the new tax laws.
“We observed that there is a lot of misinformation to people, especially those at the grassroots, including farmers, concerning the law. And the aim of such is to make them hate the government ignorantly,” he noted.
He continued, “Though we are engaging multinationals, Nigerians at different levels and from the different tribes and languages need to know the benefits they will get from the said law and support it.
“We may need to create scenarios and have farmers, students, CEOs and others to say what the reform can do for them. These can counter the wrong narratives by some content providers that are against the law,” he stated.
Oyedele is convinced that when people are sensitized and become aware of the benefits they would derive from the new tax law, they will not protest against it since it is in their best interest.
At the end of the interaction, it was agreed that a joint committee of the NOA and the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms be formed to pursue the agenda of communicating the tax reforms properly and effectively.
The highlight of the visit of the Tax Reforms Committee was the presentation of the new tax laws to the DG NOA Malam Issa-Onilu by the Tax Reforms team and the presentation of the National Value Charter plaque to the Committee Chairman Mr. Taiwo Oyedele by the NOA leadership.
The Tax Reforms Bill was signed into law in June by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as part of efforts to simplify and strengthen Nigeria’s fiscal system.
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