President Muhammadu Buhari has said that the Federal Government will continue to sensitize and encourage Nigerians to cultivate the culture of paying taxes by ensuring fair implementation of policies and effective utilisation of resources.

Mr Femi Adesina, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, said Buhari stated this when he received the leadership of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria at the State House, Abuja on Tuesday.

The president revealed that the National Tax Policy document had been reviewed with the aim of institutionalizing a tax payment culture within the Nigerian workforce.

Buhari said the progress made in diversifying the economy, providing social security and securing the country could be further improved with enhanced and expanded revenue base.

We have made some progress in the past four years. However, a lot more can still be done. A key step is to enhance and expand Government’s revenue base.

“Today, we still rely on oil as our main source of income. This simply is not enough to meet our infrastructure, social services and security needs,’’ he said.

While describing Nigerians as hardworking and entrepreneurial, the President said a deeper understanding of the effectiveness of tax on the economy by the populace and fair administration would help in improving government’s revenue shortfalls.