Douglas Kendyson, founder and CEO of Selar, an African creator economy platform, has publicly accused the Lagos State Inland Revenue Service (LIRS)for hounding the company with backdated royalty demands and appealed to Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa Musawa to look into the situation.
In a strongly worded open letter posted on X Wednesday, on accused the LIRS of aggressively pursuing his company over disputed “creator royalty taxes,” describing the actions as an attempt to scapegoat a pioneering bootstrapped business and set a precedent that could stifle the creative economy.
Selar, founded around 2016, operates as an e-commerce and software platform enabling creators to sell digital products such as e-books, online courses, event tickets, and other content. It hosts over 400,000 creators across Nigeria and 13 other African countries, with more than two million registered users and over $26 million paid out to creators historically. The company takes a commission (reportedly around 4 percent, with much of that going to payment providers), positioning itself similarly to global platforms like Shopify or Teachable rather than a royalty-collecting intermediary.
