The Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) says its 8th Media Lecture will focus on the increased drive for tax compliance in the face of dwindling oil revenue. This is contained in a statement on Friday by the Coordinator of WSCIJ, Mrs Motunrayo Alaka, a copy of which was made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
It stated that the centre chose the theme of this year’s lecture to contribute to strategic thinking and provide a veritable opportunity to raise critical questions and national debate on issues surrounding taxation in the country. “The lecture will evaluate the importance of taxation to development, evaluating the compliance rate and technology-driven payment. “It will also include the lack of trust for wise use of funds generated by the government, the level of reportage of the issue in the media and many more.
“In the face of dwindling oil revenue, the Nigerian government has among other options, increase the drive for tax compliance,’’ the statement said. According to the statement, the lecture would hold on Wednesday, July 13, at NECA Building, Agidingbi, Ikeja, Lagos. It stated that the lecture will focus on the theme, “Tax Education, National Development and the Seminal Role of the Media’’.
The statement said that the first female President of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), Mrs Adebimpe Balogun, would deliver the lecture commemorating the 82nd birthday of Wole Soyinka. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the lecture series was first hosted in 2008. NAN also reports that it was designed to periodically examine varying topical issues that have a reverberating effect on the perceived performance of the media on the health of our country, Nigeria, and its democracy.
