Nigeria’s journey towards a fully digital tax ecosystem will depend on how effectively government platforms connect with private sector technologies, according to the Chief Executive Officer of Taxaide Professional Services Limited, Bidemi Olumide.
Speaking at the opening of the 2026 National Tax Forum held at the University of Lagos, Olumide said the next phase of tax administration should focus on building an interconnected digital infrastructure powered by Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), enabling businesses to exchange tax-related information seamlessly with government systems.
According to him, digital transformation in tax administration goes beyond creating online portals. Instead, government platforms should be designed to integrate directly with enterprise software used by businesses, allowing financial and tax data to move securely and automatically between organisations and regulatory authorities.
“The government has to create the digital ecosystem,” Olumide said. “Its platforms should not function only as standalone portals. They need to expose API interfaces that businesses can easily integrate into their own systems.
“If a company wants to connect with REV360, for example, there should be a clear technical framework showing how that integration can happen.”
He explained that such interoperability would allow enterprise applications to submit tax information automatically, eliminating duplication and reducing the need for manual data entry.
Olumide identified fragmented data management as one of the biggest obstacles to efficient tax collection in Nigeria, noting that businesses often maintain records that differ from what eventually reaches tax authorities.
According to him, creating a unified digital architecture through API integration would improve data consistency, strengthen transparency and increase confidence in the country’s tax administration.
“Today, data exists in silos,” he said. “The information within a company’s internal systems may not match what is eventually submitted. That disconnect should no longer exist. Data integrity must become the foundation of Nigeria’s digital tax ecosystem.”
Beyond enterprise integration, Olumide advocated for stronger connectivity between the banking sector and government tax platforms, describing it as a technological solution capable of expanding Nigeria’s tax net.
He noted that with more than half of the country’s economic activities taking place within the informal sector, integrating banking infrastructure with tax systems could provide better visibility into commercial transactions and encourage wider tax participation.
“The informal sector contributes over 55 per cent of Nigeria’s economy. If banking platforms are digitally connected with tax systems, government will have better visibility into business transactions, making it easier to identify economic activities and improve tax compliance,” he said.
Olumide also proposed that Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software used by businesses should be connected directly to government platforms, allowing payroll records, invoices and transaction receipts to be transmitted automatically.
Under such a system, payroll tax filings, employee tax deductions and electronic receipts issued by businesses could flow directly from corporate software into government databases, reducing paperwork while improving operational efficiency.
He stressed that although the government has already introduced digital tax platforms such as REV360, technology adoption would only reach its full potential through collaboration with software providers, financial institutions and other private-sector stakeholders.
“The infrastructure is gradually taking shape, but infrastructure alone is not enough,” he said. “Government needs to work closely with the private sector to accelerate adoption. Countries like India, Brazil and the United Kingdom have demonstrated that digital tax systems become more effective when businesses are fully integrated into the ecosystem.”
Olumide’s remarks reflect a broader shift towards technology-driven public administration, where automation, cloud platforms and API-based services are increasingly replacing traditional manual processes.
The 2026 National Tax Forum, themed ‘Nigeria’s New Tax Era: Implications for Businesses, the Informal Sector, and Revenue Performance, brought together policymakers, technology experts, tax administrators, economists, legal practitioners and business leaders to explore how digital innovation can support the implementation of Nigeria’s new tax reforms.
Participants at the forum agreed that leveraging modern technologies such as APIs, enterprise software integration and digital financial infrastructure will be critical to improving revenue mobilisation, strengthening voluntary compliance and building a more efficient, transparent and data-driven tax system for Africa’s largest economy.
