ABUJA, Nigeria — For many Nigerians, a tax dispute means a long, costly trip to court. Dr. John C. Nwabueze, Tax Ombud and Chief Executive Officer of the Office of the Tax Ombudsman Nigeria, wants to change that.

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‎In a recent engagement with journalists, Nwabueze laid out a simple promise: a fair, factual and acceptable resolution to every complaint — free of charge, and without the burden of litigation.

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‎“The office is set up to remove the very costly, often very complex court process,” he said. “We will provide a level ground for both the taxpayer and the tax authorities.”

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‎TAKING THE OFFICE TO THE PEOPLE

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‎Nwabueze said public engagement remains his top priority because the office is still relatively new and little known.

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‎“We have continued on the path of engaging the public, which in itself is the most important thing to do,” he said. “We have decided to use TV, print, and live engagements outside the office to announce the process.”

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‎That outreach is now moving beyond Abuja. The Ombudsman is in talks with tax authorities to open desk offices inside their offices across the country, including in rural communities.

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‎The aim, he said, is real-time correspondence. A complaint that arrives in the morning should get a response the same day, instead of losing a week to letters moving back and forth.

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‎He expects the first desk offices to be launched between this month and next month, with zonal offices to follow before the end of the year. Six zonal offices are planned, one for each geopolitical zone.

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‎COMPLAINTS RISING, BUT SLOWLY

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‎Nwabueze said Nigerians are gradually finding the office, although awareness remains low.

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‎Complaints have so far come from across the country, including Lagos, Nasarawa and the Federal Capital Territory, covering issues ranging from assessments to the process itself.

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‎He said his team has resolved close to 38 complaints, with the legal and vocational departments handling about 20, and about 22 closed personally by him.

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‎The law gives the office 40 days to address a complaint, but Nwabueze admitted that Nigeria’s slow communication system often makes that difficult.

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‎Still, he said the goal is not just to clear cases, but to fix the system that creates them.

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‎“If the process is efficient, we will have reduced cases,” he said.

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‎WHAT TAXPAYERS WANT

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‎According to Nwabueze, taxpayers are not asking for special treatment. They want to be heard.

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‎“They expect a fair resolution to their problems,” he said. “When that is done, we begin to have trust in the system. If there is trust in the system, there will be compliance as well.”

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‎Where both sides cannot agree, the matter can return to the court process or be reported to the National Assembly and the President, as provided by law. But Nwabueze said he does not foresee that happening.

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‎“I am looking forward to actually having a resolution that will be acceptable to both sides,” he said.

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‎FUNDING AND NEXT STEPS

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‎For this year, the office has been funded directly by the President. From January next year, its appropriation will go through the National Assembly, a process Nwabueze said he expects will build a good working relationship with lawmakers.

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‎For now, his message to Nigerians is captured in the office’s slogan: resolve differences, build trust.

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‎“We will continue to improve stakeholder collaboration and promote public awareness,” he said. “That is what we are all about.”