Oxfam, CISLAC seek tax reform to address widening wealth gap among Nigerians

Oxfam Nigeria and the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) have called for urgent tax reforms to tackle the rising economic inequality that has pushed millions into poverty.

The civil society organisations made the call at the unveiling of Oxfam’s report, titled, ‘Income and Wealth Inequality in Nigeria: Trends and Drivers,’ Abuja on Tuesday.

According to the report, about 133 million Nigerians, nearly 70 per cent of the population, are facing hunger, with women and girls disproportionately affected.

It added that 99 per cent of Nigeria’s wealthiest citizens evade taxes, while only 40 of the country’s top earners are compliant taxpayers. This small group represents just 0.035 percent of the wealthiest individuals, highlighting the system’s failure to ensure fair contributions from the rich.

“The situation in Nigeria is alarming,” said John Makina, Oxfam’s country director in Nigeria. “While millions struggle to afford food, the super-rich continue to amass wealth without paying their fair share of taxes.”

He also identified complex tax laws and a lack of transparency as factors enabling tax evasion.

The report stressed that revenue lost to tax evasion could be pivotal in funding essential services like healthcare and education, sectors where Nigeria lags behind global standards. The country’s wealth Gini coefficient, a measure of inequality, stands at 35.1 per cent, making Nigeria one of the most unequal countries in West Africa.

Women and rural communities are particularly hard-hit, with less than 40 per cent of rural households having access to electricity, and only 35 per cent of women being literate compared to 59.5 percent of men.

Oxfam has proposed a progressive wealth tax that could generate over $7.5 billion annually, enough to double the government’s current health budget or reduce household health expenditure by 40 per cent. This would alleviate the financial burdens on struggling families and address Nigeria’s healthcare crisis.

As Nigeria faces a mounting debt crisis, a significant portion of the national budget is spent servicing loans, leaving limited resources for social investment. Poverty rates vary widely, from 87 per cent in Sokoto to just 4.5 per cent in Lagos.

“The findings of this report are clear: Nigeria’s growing inequality is not just an economic issue but a social crisis that threatens long-term stability,” warned Henry Ushie, the report’s lead author and Oxfam’s accountable governance programme manager in Nigeria.

During a session co-hosted by Oxfam and Tax Justice Africa at the unveiling of the report, Auwal Musa (Rafsanjani), Executive Director of CISLAC, condemned a tax system that allows the wealthy to exploit loopholes while ordinary Nigerians bear the burden of taxation.

A panel of policymakers, activists, and development experts at the forum warned against the deepening inequality and its potential repercussions for Nigeria and the broader West African region.

They urged swift government action to address the widening wealth gap and boost investment in healthcare and education.

With Nigeria preparing for the upcoming IMF-World Bank meetings, Oxfam and CISLAC stressed the need for immediate reform. “The wealth gap in Nigeria is widening every year,” they said. “Immediate action is needed to reverse these trends before the situation becomes even more unmanageable.”