REVIEWING THE OFFICE OF AN OMBUD UNDER THE NEW TAXING SPACE IN NIGERIA

Abstract

On 26 June 2025, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed into law a historic package of tax reform legislation, marking the most comprehensive overhaul of Nigeria’s fiscal architecture in decades. Thus, the four Acts namely, Nigeria Tax Act, Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, Nigeria Tax Administration Act and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Act, seek to streamline revenue administration, enhance compliance, strengthen inter-governmental coordination, and thus reposition the tax system to support inclusive growth. Thus, the study seeks to examine the philosophy behind the creation of the office of the Ombudsman, the apparent gaps in the enabling statute and to what extent the emergence of the new office shall mediate and resolve tax-related grievances. To prosecute the above, the study used the doctrinal legal approach, by analyzing legislation, case laws, constitutional clauses and academic literature in order to critically evaluate the symmetrical distance between the powers of the Ombudsman against the restoration of taxpayer confidence. The central argument proposed in the study is whether the new office of the Ombudsman would complement or deplete the extant Tax Appeal Tribunal? The study, therefore, advocates enhanced statutory clarity, judicial review mechanisms, and improved procedural safe-guards within the enabling statute to secure taxpayer confidence with a view to strengthening the legitimacy of Nigeria’s tax administration.