THE Federal Government has confirmed that all income earned in Nigeria, including money made by commercial sex workers, popularly known as “runs girls” is subject to taxation under new fiscal reforms scheduled to take effect from January 1, 2026.
News Point Nigeria reports that Taiwo Oyedele, Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, made the clarification during a tax education session at the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), City of David parish, Lagos.
In a widely circulated video, Oyedele explained that while upkeep money or gifts sent to relatives and dependents are exempt from tax as “non-exchange transactions,” any income derived from providing services or products is taxable regardless of whether the activity is deemed legitimate.
“If somebody is doing runs girls, right, they go and look for men to sleep with, you know that’s a service, they will pay tax on it,” Oyedele said.
“One thing about the tax law is it does not separate between whether what you are doing is legitimate or not.
“It just asks you whether you have an income. Did you get it from rendering a service or providing a good? You pay tax.”
The reforms, which consolidate existing tax legislation into a single simplified framework, are aimed at improving compliance and broadening Nigeria’s revenue base. Oyedele described them as the “most transformative, most significant in our nation’s history.”
He used the parable of a blind man and an elephant to illustrate the danger of focusing on only one aspect of the sweeping reforms.
“Depending on the side of the elephant that they touched, they concluded what it was, maybe a fan, a wall, or a tree.
“But none of them got the right answer because they didn’t feel the big picture,” he said.
According to him, the reforms will affect business owners, employees, civil servants, social media influencers, and remote workers including those earning in foreign currencies.
The disclosure has drawn renewed attention to the scale of Nigeria’s commercial sex economy.
A 2024 report by this newspaper estimated that men in Lagos spent about ₦661 billion on transactional sex, with ₦329 billion paid directly to sex workers and the remainder spent on associated costs such as entertainment, food, and hospitality.
The report also found that sex workers reinvested earnings into family upkeep, education, healthcare, and small businesses further reinforcing the government’s argument that such income falls within the tax net.
Oyedele urged Nigerians not to focus narrowly on “runs girls” but to appreciate the broader scope of the reforms.
“If someone is rendering a service, such a person will pay tax,” he said, stressing that taxation is tied to income generation, not the perceived morality of the activity.