Peller, who gained online fame barely a year ago, went viral last week after lamenting in a livestream with singer Peruzzi that the Lagos State Government had demanded he pay what he described as an “excessive” income tax.
“The task force said I should pay ₦36m in tax. I swear to Almighty Allah, I don’t have anything. I only came into the limelight last year,” he protested in the video, questioning why the government would seek such payments when, according to him, it had never provided him support.
Reacting to the controversy, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Tax and Revenue, Abdulkabir Ogungbo, said the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS) — the autonomous body responsible for tax administration in the state — makes its assessments independently and in line with law.
“I need to take a look at this particular context in question,” Ogungbo told our correspondent. “But generally, anybody who is legitimately earning within Lagos must pay tax. Section 24 of the Nigerian Constitution stipulates that when you earn your income legitimately, you are meant to declare that honestly to the authorities.”
When asked specifically about content creators and digital influencers, Ogungbo explained that reforms already exist to cover virtual transactions and online-based income.
“From the context of personal income tax, irrespective of whether you earn physically or virtually, you’re meant to remit your tax to the approved authority, which is the LIRS,” he said. “If you reside in Lagos, you use its infrastructure and services, and you earn income here, then you are bound to pay tax here — unless you can prove you are remitting tax to another jurisdiction.”
The Special Adviser, however, stressed that he had not yet reviewed Peller’s individual case, noting: “We have a body (the LIRS) that is autonomous and efficient in what they do. Let me investigate and revert.”
For now, the LIRS has remained silent on the matter. Repeated calls and messages to the agency’s Head of Corporate Communications, Monsurat Amasa, went unanswered as of Tuesday.
As Lagos increasingly seeks to capture revenue from the digital economy, Peller’s outcry has highlighted a growing tension between young online creators and the state’s tax authorities — one that may well shape future conversations about fairness, enforcement, and the realities of Nigeria’s fast-rising creator economy.