The chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Zacch Adedeji, remains committed to delivering the benefits of Nigeria’s new tax laws despite a recent call for his removal, a civic group said on Saturday.
Spokesperson of the Guardian of Truth, Clement Kolawole, said in a statement on Saturday that Adedeji is focused on ensuring the new tax laws bring huge reliefs to ordinary Nigerians and end multiple taxes for businesses in the new year.
Kolawole was reacting to a lawmaker, Ikenga Ugochinyere, who called for the sack of the finance minister and the FIRS chairman over alleged unpaid funds owed to various government contractors.
He described the call as laughable and based on a misunderstanding of the agency’s mandate.
According to him, “FIRS is not involved in payment to contractors working for government as the agency only assesses, collects and accounts for tax revenue due to the federation.”
He noted that the agency’s strong revenue performance should not be mistaken for holding on to funds meant for government contractors.
“The fact that FIRS under Adedeji has consistently posted stellar revenue collection performance since assumption of office does not mean the money is warehoused in FIRS,” he said.
Kolawole reminded the lawmaker that most of the funds shared monthly by the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) come from FIRS collections.
“About 70 per cent of what is shared monthly at FAAC by federal, states and local government councils comes from FIRS,” he stated.
He added that the distributable FAAC allocations have continued to increase since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu assumed office in May 2023.
According to him, this upward trend has been acknowledged nationally, with the President earning praise even from opposition elements for restoring fiscal stability across the country.
Kolawole said the sack call has not affected Adedeji’s focus or commitment.
“The FIRS chairman is not distracted by such a call and remains determined to ensure Nigerians and businesses fully harness the gains of the new tax laws kicking in January through fair and efficient tax administration,” he said.
FIRS boss not distracted by sack call, remains focused on new tax reliefs – Kolawole
