Abuja, Nigeria — Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Taiwo Oyedele, has said no Nigerian is exempted from declaring their income — not even sex workers or agberos (motor park touts).
Oyedele made the statement on Friday during an interactive session with journalists, social media influencers, and public analysts while explaining the new tax laws recently signed by President Bola Tinubu.
President Tinubu signed the laws on June 26, and they will take effect from January 1, 2026.
According to Oyedele, the rule is not new — it has always been in Nigeria’s tax law that everyone who earns an income must “self-declare” it.
“Sex workers, agberos — everybody has the responsibility to declare their income. That’s the first obligation in the law,” Oyedele said.
He stressed that the new tax laws are not introducing fresh taxes but simply ensuring people obey existing ones.
“If I am an agbero, calling people to enter vehicles and getting paid, how is that different from a waiter or an accountant? Everyone who earns must pay tax,” he explained.
“People are just sensationalising the issue of sex workers. The law applies to everyone.”
Oyedele also clarified that tax laws around the world don’t care about morality or legality — what matters is whether you made money.
“There are court judgments across the world that say when it comes to tax matters, there’s no question of morality or legality,” he said.
“Otherwise, people would just make their jobs illegal so they don’t pay tax. Even in the U.S., the IRS says if you steal, you must declare it for tax purposes.”
He added that the system has ways to track undeclared income, no matter the source.
“If you don’t declare your income, we can still find out. When you earn money, you either spend, save, or invest it — and all these involve third parties. That’s how the system validates income,” he said.
Oyedele had earlier explained that income from commercial sex work, street activities, and informal jobs will also be taxed under the new law.
He emphasized that the goal is not to judge anyone’s work, but to make sure every Nigerian contributes their fair share to the country’s development.
“The law doesn’t look at whether your income is legitimate or not — it only looks at whether you earned money,” he concluded.
The federal government hopes the new system will widen Nigeria’s tax net, reduce dependence on oil revenue, and make the tax process fairer and more transparent.
