The National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) and the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) have joined forces to enhance the capacity-building efforts of key National Assembly Committees responsible for overseeing tax expenditures in Nigeria. This collaboration was disclosed on Monday during a visit to the state-of-the-art permanent site of NILDS, led by Adesina Oke, a Board Member of CISLAC. The delegation was warmly received by Prof. Abubakar O. Sulaiman, the Director-General of NILDS.

In his remarks, Oke, explained that the purpose of the visit is to capitalize on NILDS’ strong ties with Nigeria’s legislature to facilitate a three-day technical capacity-building session scheduled for October 9th to 11th, 2023. This capacity-building initiative aims to provide participants with a comprehensive understanding of tax expenditure administration in Nigeria and to pinpoint legislative strategies, opportunities, and avenues for effectively addressing identified gaps in legislation. He emphasized that this session will involve relevant committees from both chambers of the National Assembly and their respective clerks.

In response, Prof. Sulaiman noted that reforms in tax expenditure management were gaining momentum in Nigeria. However, he stressed the importance of fairness in tax payments, highlighting that taxation plays a crucial role in funding government expenditures. He also underscored the need for realistic measures that can significantly reduce the country’s reliance on borrowing and alleviate the nation’s high debt burden.