Finance Minister Urges Stronger Tax Cooperation In West Africa
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr 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.
The minister made the call in a statement issued on Tuesday following a courtesy visit by a delegation of the West African Tax Administration Forum led by its Executive Secretary, Jules Tapsoba Sulio, to the Federal Ministry of Finance headquarters in Abuja.
The statement was signed by the minister’s Senior Special Assistant, Communications and Press Secretary, Mary-Ann Duke Okon,
The meeting comes as governments across West Africa intensify efforts to expand their tax bases, improve revenue collection and reduce dependence on borrowing and volatile commodity earnings.
It also reflects growing regional efforts to harmonise tax policies, strengthen institutional capacity and leverage digital technology to improve tax administration.
The statement noted that while welcoming the delegation, the minister commended WATAF for its contributions to strengthening tax administrations across the region since its establishment in 2011. Oyedele also urged the forum to play a more proactive role in monitoring compliance with regional tax agreements.
“The Honourable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr 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.
“He challenged WATAF to take a more active role in monitoring the implementation of regional tax agreements by developing practical benchmarking tools and performance dashboards that assess member states’ compliance with ECOWAS tax directives. Such tools, he noted, would promote accountability, encourage peer learning, and help raise tax administration standards across West Africa,” the statement partly read.
The minister further encouraged the regional body to broaden its benchmarking initiatives by documenting and promoting successful tax administration models across member countries.
“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 continued.
According to the statement, earlier, WATAF’s Executive Secretary, Jules Sulio, congratulated Oyedele on his appointment and reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to supporting member countries in strengthening their tax systems.
He acknowledged Nigeria’s longstanding role in supporting the regional tax body.
“Earlier, Executive Secretary of WATAF, Jules Tapsoba Sulio, congratulated the Minister on his appointment and reaffirmed the Forum’s commitment to supporting Nigeria and other member countries in strengthening tax systems through capacity building, technical assistance, research, digital transformation, and regional cooperation.
“He expressed appreciation for Nigeria’s longstanding leadership and support for WATAF, noting that the country’s financial, institutional, and technical contributions have been instrumental to the Forum’s growth and success”, the statement further stated.
The statement added that both parties discussed areas for deeper cooperation to strengthen tax administration across the region.
“The meeting also explored opportunities for enhanced collaboration between the Ministry and WATAF in advancing domestic revenue mobilisation, regional tax harmonisation, digital transformation, and capacity development across West Africa”, the statement concluded.
Nigeria has in recent years intensified efforts to reform its tax administration through digitalisation, institutional reforms and policies aimed at broadening the tax base, improving compliance and increasing non-oil revenue as part of broader measures to enhance fiscal sustainability and support economic growth.
Established in 2011, WATAF promotes cooperation among tax administrations in West Africa through knowledge sharing, technical assistance, research and institutional capacity building.
The organisation works with member countries to strengthen tax systems, improve compliance and support regional economic integration.
