Omoyele Sowore, presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), has urged the Federal Government to expand Nigeria’s tax base and recover outstanding oil royalties rather than introduce new taxes on Nigerians.
Sowore made the remarks during an interview on AIT on Saturday, arguing that the government could increase revenue by ensuring that individuals and businesses liable to pay taxes fulfil their obligations.
“We are not going to introduce tax, but we would expand the tax base, the GDP ratio… Nigeria is probably poorly taxed,” he said.
He cited Ghana’s reported tax-to-GDP ratio of 17 per cent, compared with Nigeria’s estimated 10 per cent, and argued that the country could improve revenue collection by broadening the tax base.
“We would admit that maybe we are at 10 percent; Ghana is like 17 percent; if we get to 50 percent GDP to tax ratio… No, we are not taxing Nigerians. We are expanding the tax base.”
Sowore Says Taxpayers Should Meet Obligations
The AAC presidential candidate said Nigerians earning taxable income should pay their taxes to enable the government to provide public services.
“As long as you are making money, alright? You are supposed to pay tax and ensure that governments can do what they say they will deliver to you,” he said.
Sowore also questioned why the government’s revenue-raising efforts often focus on taxation when, according to him, substantial amounts remain unpaid to the state.
“Apart from that, how do you get money? Because that’s always the cup ball thrown at Nigerians: ‘how are we going to get the money?’ You have money everywhere,” he said.
Sowore Alleges $62bn in Unpaid Oil Royalties
Sowore claimed that oil companies owed Nigeria more than $62 billion in outstanding royalties, alleging that some operators had received oil blocks and generated billions of dollars without paying the royalties due to the government.
“I’ll give you an example: there are, as I speak to you today, over 62 billion dollars in unpaid royalties to the Nigerian state from people that we gave free blocks and are making billions from it, they don’t pay royalties,” he said.
Sowore argued that royalties should be considered part of the broader system of government revenue, saying the government should pursue the outstanding payments instead of relying primarily on taxes.
“All this revenue you are talking about, they fall under the category of tax. Royalties are taxes too, but when we talk about it, they will lie to you; they don’t want you to understand that all of them fall under the categories of taxation,” he said.
Sowore Proposes Using Royalties for Infrastructure
The AAC presidential candidate urged the government to recover the alleged outstanding royalties and channel the money into public infrastructure, education and reducing the cost of governance.
“So just ensure that you pay us our 62 billion. You know, we use it to do what we need to do, what we need to construct, the schools we need to build, and we cut down the cost of governance,” he said.
