The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, has called for stronger regional collaboration to deepen tax administration reforms, improve compliance with ECOWAS tax directives and strengthen domestic revenue mobilisation across West Africa.

Oyedele made the call yesterday during a courtesy visit by a delegation from the West African Tax Administration Forum (WATAF), led by its Executive Secretary, Jules Tapsoba Sulio.

A statement signed by the minister’s Senior Special Assistant, Communications and Press Secretary, Mary-Ann Duke Okon, said the minister commended WATAF for its progress since its establishment in 2011 and acknowledged its role in strengthening tax administrations across the region.

He urged the forum to play a more active role in monitoring the implementation of regional tax agreements by developing practical benchmarking tools and performance dashboards to assess member states’ compliance with ECOWAS tax directives.

According to Oyedele, such tools would promote accountability, encourage peer learning and help raise tax administration standards across West Africa.

Oyedele also encouraged WATAF to expand its benchmarking initiatives by identifying and showcasing best practices in key areas of tax administration, including digitalisation, taxation of the informal sector and wider tax policy reforms, to enable member countries to learn from one another and accelerate reforms.

“The minister also encouraged the Forum to expand its benchmarking initiatives by identifying and showcasing best practices in key areas of tax administration, including digitalisation, taxation of the informal sector, and broader tax policy reforms, to enable member countries to learn from one another and accelerate reforms,” the statement said.

Sulio congratulated Oyedele on his appointment and reaffirmed WATAF’s commitment to supporting Nigeria and other member countries in strengthening their tax systems through capacity building, technical assistance, research, digital transformation and regional cooperation.

He also appreciated Nigeria’s longstanding support for the forum, saying the country’s financial, institutional and technical contributions had been instrumental to WATAF’s growth and success.

“We remain committed to supporting Nigeria and other member countries in strengthening tax systems through capacity building, technical assistance, research, digital transformation and regional cooperation,” Sulio said.