Nigeria in revenue crisis- FIRS chairman declares

The new Federal Inland Revenue Service chairman, FIRS, Dr Zacch Adedeji, said the nation is in a revenue crisis and requires urgent steps to change the narrative.

Adedeji stated this on Monday while taking over the agency’s leadership from his predecessor, Muhammad Nami, noting that about 96 per cent of Federal Government revenue was spent on debt servicing last year, stressing that the situation is not sustainable.

Former chairman of the revenue agency, Nami, said the FIRS generated N8.5 trillion in revenue into the federation account as of mid-September.

Meanwhile, Adedeji stressed that the country had been overburdened by debt, noting that 96 per cent of its revenue was spent on debt servicing last year.

Adedeji said: “We are in a revenue crisis; government revenue is low amid a huge public debt. Last year, 96 per cent of government revenue went into debt servicing.

“Where debt has grown bigger than the Gross Domestic Product, GDP, and debt servicing faster than revenue, immediate actions must be taken to remedy the situation.”

He added that the current administration has the agenda to optimise revenue by setting up a presidential fiscal Policy and Tax reforms committee.

“In this direction, therefore, we will key into the reforms being made by President Bola Tinubu, who has since inaugurated a Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee.

“The mandate of the committee is to, among other things, evolve an effective design and implementation of fiscal policy and tax reforms for economic prosperity”, he stated.

CityNews Nigeria recalls that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu appointed Adedeji to chair FIRS last week.