Tax Ombud to Take Complaint Centres to Markets, Villages
…Traders, Transporters Cry Out Over Multiple Levies
By Patience Ikpeme
The Office of the Tax Ombud is moving to bring its complaint services closer to market traders and rural dwellers through a planned partnership with the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST). The move came as traders and transport workers told a town hall in Abuja that they are tired of paying many levies they do not understand.
The Tax Ombud and Chief Executive, Dr John Nwabueze, announced the plan on Friday, October 23, 2026, at the Ladi Kwali Conference Centre. The town hall brought together professional bodies, market associations, private sector operators, civil society groups and the media under the theme “Promoting Fairness in Tax and Revenue Administration”.
Dr Nwabueze said the Office was “at the verge” of formalising the agreement with NIPOST. The aim is to make it easier for traders and taxpayers in rural areas to reach the Office and have their complaints handled. NIPOST has post offices in many towns and villages, which could give such taxpayers a nearby place to lodge complaints. The Office said its services are free.
Dr Nwabueze was clear about the limits of his Office. He described it as independent, impartial and non-judicial, set up to deal with operational, procedural and administrative complaints from tax and revenue collection.
He said the Office will not cancel a genuine tax bill simply because a taxpayer does not want to pay. “We do not make tax policy. We do not encourage non-compliance, shield taxpayers from their lawful obligations, or perform the functions of the courts,” he said. “Our role is to facilitate the fair and impartial resolution of eligible complaints within our statutory mandate.”
He also said the Office looks at the duties of taxpayers and of tax collectors alike. “Our focus is not only on the rights of taxpayers but also on their responsibilities and those of the relevant authorities,” he said.
In his prepared remarks, he said the success of the tax reforms that began in January 2026 would depend not only on the quality of the laws but also on how fairly they are carried out. “Fairness is not a favour to taxpayers; it is the foundation of public trust and sustainable revenue mobilisation,” he said. He warned that arbitrary assessments, overlapping levies and uneven enforcement weaken public confidence and discourage people from paying willingly.
He listed five pillars for the Office: equity and proportionality, fair procedure, professionalism and respect, openness and accountability, and protection for vulnerable taxpayers. On the last point, he said protecting small businesses and individuals does not excuse them from their legal duties. It means those duties must be applied fairly. He added that the Office is preparing a Taxpayer Charter that will explain rights and responsibilities in simple language, in English, Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba and Nigerian Pidgin.
The Office said it has so far built a digital system for handling complaints and set up a call centre. Its next priority, Dr Nwabueze said, is to reach more people and strengthen its capacity.
The strongest complaints came from the road transport sector. Sulaiman Danzaki, Senior Special Adviser on Intergovernmental and International Matters to the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), said transport workers pay more taxes than most Nigerians, yet the system is confusing and costly.
He said a passenger travelling by motorbike to his destination could end up paying revenue “more than five times”. He also said a trailer driver travelling from Taraba to Calabar and on to Lagos pays more than ₦350,000 in levies, often to collectors who cannot say what the money is for. “We are not afraid of paying the tax,” Mr Danzaki said. He said the union pays for driver’s licences, road maintenance, toll gates and more, “every day”.
Mr Danzaki also accused some collectors of issuing fake receipts. “You ask them to collect the money, they print their own receipt,” he said.
He recalled that transporters took part in discussions in 1992 that led to the recommendation of about 22 toll gates. According to him, the understanding was that the money would go into a special account for road maintenance, but that has not happened. He also said a single major component of an 18-seater bus can cost ₦72 million, so daily charges of ₦10,000 make it hard for operators to recover their investment.
The union says it has more than four million members and spends more time in disputes than larger industries. Mr Danzaki asked to be invited to negotiate with the authorities. “We appreciate if we can be invited to negotiate, to stop this litigation,” he said.
Similar complaints came from the markets. Speaking for the Managing Director of Abuja Markets Management Limited, Bar. Onya Ojiji, its Head of Finance and Accounts, Faruk Baffa, listed four problems traders face every day: several levies on the same activity, payments collected without proper receipts, unclear ways of working out what is owed, and the presence of unauthorised collectors.
“Taxpayers do not resist taxes so much as they resist unfairness, uncertainty and the absence of visible value,” said Mr Baffa, who is an accountant and a doctoral candidate in taxation and revenue management. He added that where payments are clear, receipted and accounted for, people pay more willingly.
He said the company will teach market leaders and traders about their rights and how to complain through the Ombud. It will also work with revenue authorities to discourage multiple and unauthorised levies, and will carry the concerns of traders to the Office.
According to the Office, representatives of the Abuja markets, the National Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME), the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria, the National Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), road transport unions and airline operators welcomed the ongoing reforms. They called for simpler procedures, clear rules on how taxes are assessed, and effective ways to settle disputes, saying these are needed to build trust and improve compliance.
Dr Nwabueze thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for establishing the Office, and acknowledged the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, and other stakeholders. He said the Office will keep talking to stakeholders. “Our collective objective must be to move from disputes to solutions, from administrative friction to constructive engagement, and from distrust to confidence,” he said.
