West Africa Urged to Boost Tax Cooperation by Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele

In a bid to foster greater regional cooperation, Nigeria's Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, has emphasized the need for stronger collaboration among West African nations to enhance tax administration and compliance with regional tax directives. This call was made during a courtesy visit by the West African Tax Administration Forum (WATAF) to the Federal Ministry of Finance in Abuja, led by its Executive Secretary, Jules Tapsoba Sulio. The meeting highlighted the importance of deepening tax administration reforms, improving compliance, and strengthening domestic revenue mobilization across the region. Oyedele commended WATAF for its contributions to strengthening tax administrations in West Africa since its establishment in 2011 and urged the forum to play a more proactive role in monitoring compliance with regional tax agreements. He suggested that WATAF develop practical benchmarking tools and performance dashboards to assess member states' compliance with ECOWAS tax directives, which would promote accountability, encourage peer learning, and raise tax administration standards. The minister also encouraged WATAF to broaden its benchmarking initiatives by documenting and promoting successful tax administration models across member countries, particularly in areas such as digitalization, taxation of the informal sector, and broader tax policy reforms. WATAF's Executive Secretary, Jules Sulio, congratulated Oyedele on his appointment and reaffirmed the organization's commitment to supporting member countries in strengthening their tax systems through capacity building, technical assistance, research, digital transformation, and regional cooperation. The meeting explored opportunities for enhanced collaboration between the Ministry and WATAF in advancing domestic revenue mobilization, regional tax harmonization, digital transformation, and capacity development across West Africa. Nigeria has been intensifying efforts to reform its tax administration through digitalization, institutional reforms, and policies aimed at broadening the tax base, improving compliance, and increasing non-oil revenue to enhance fiscal sustainability and support economic growth. As a regional body, WATAF promotes cooperation among tax administrations in West Africa through knowledge sharing, technical assistance, research, and institutional capacity building, working with member countries to strengthen tax systems, improve compliance, and support regional economic integration.