Tinubu’s Aide Reacts To Oyedele’s Comment On Training Areas Boys As Tax Officers

A presidential aide, Dada Olusegun, has reacted to a comment ascribed to the Chairman of Presidential Tax and Fiscal Policy Reform, Taiwo Oyedele.

Naija News earlier reported that Oyedele had said area boys and touts could be trained for tax collection and paid decent salaries to forsake their old ways.

He said: “We’re also thinking about how you bring all stakeholders on board because at the end of the day, if you stop the livelihood of anyone, whether they are earning it legitimately or not, you can create crises that would be difficult to manage but once you bring everybody in, maybe we need to train those area boys and touts, give them uniforms and then they’ll be the ones to ask you to show the evidence on your phone, right?

“And then they get paid a decent salary. And if you give them the skills, some of them will on their own, move on from that job to something else, right? So, our strategy is let’s think about what’s best for our country and get all stakeholders to align.”

In a post via his X handle on Sunday, Olusegun said Oyedele’s comment was misconstrued and taken out of context, adding that he never called for touts and area boys to be employed.

The presidential aide said the context of analysis matters when reporting Public officials’ engagement on sensitive issues.

Olusegun stated that the media and engaged citizens should be responsible for a better Nigeria.

He wrote: “Context of analysis matters when reporting Public officials’ engagement on sensitive issues This is the overview context of Mr. Taiwo Oyedele’s analogy;

…“We are also thinking of a way to bring all stakeholders on board because at the end of the day, if you stop the livelihood of anyone, whether it’s legitimate or not, it can create a crisis.”

“For a better Nigeria to happen, It starts with responsible media and engaged citizens. Let’s go beyond clickbait headlines, embrace context, and build a nation where information is a tool for progress, not division. A well-known news outlet like Channels does not need clickbait.”