Oladapo A. Sofowora

In a country like Nigeria where paying taxes is often viewed with suspicion, where government agencies are frequently seen as bureaucratic bottlenecks rather than service providers, one man is systematically dismantling decades of entrenched practicI deviating from the conventional norm. Dr Zacch Adelabu Adedeji, Executive Chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), formerly the Federal Inland Revenue Service FIRS, is orchestrating what may be the most significant transformation in Nigeria’s fiscal history and he’s doing it by simply pampering taxpayers as customers rather than targets.

Growing up in the quiet rural community of Iwo-Ate, Ogbomoso, in Oyo State. Born on January 8, 1978, young, Zacch grew up surrounded by a cocoa Plantation which, at that time was a very lucrative crop that the western region led by late sage Obafemi Awolowo used in developing the South West region. Unaware that providence would be kind to him placing him on a national stage he would one day command.

Those who know his sojourn speak of a boy who dreamed beyond the imaginable with many aspirations. The foundation of that dream found its first concrete expression at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, where Adedeji graduated with a First-Class honour in Management & Accounting, a feat that signals not just intelligence but the kind of disciplined focus that would come to define his impeccable career. He later added a Master of Science degree in Accounting from the same institution and, in 2023, capped it with a Doctor of Philosophy in Accounting. Along the way, he sharpened his understanding of economic development at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, United States of America.

Adedeji cut his teeth in the crucible of multinational corporate finance at Procter & Gamble, where he rose through roles including Corporate Finance Manager for West Africa. It was here that he absorbed the private sector ethos that would later collide productively with public service bureaucracy. His entry into the murky waters of politics and government came in 2011 when then Late Governor Abiola Ajimobi appointed him Commissioner for Finance in Oyo State. As Finance Commissioner, he dared to be different; his pattern of innovative thinking was evident while he introduced the Treasury Single Account, a reform that consolidated government funds into a unified structure, enhancing transparency and control over public finances.

After leaving as Finance Commissioner, he was quickly spotted as a talent and was appointed as Executive Secretary of the National Sugar Development Council where he established the Nigeria Sugar Institute and as Special Adviser to the President on Revenue under President Bola Tinubu which further provided preparation for the assignment that would define his public career.

In September 2023, Adedeji was appointed Executive Chairman of the 83-year-old Federal Inland Revenue Service, this moment signalled the redefinition of the agency with its legacy systems and deep-seated public distrust, to a more reliable institution that prioritised development and innovation for tax development.

What sets Adedeji apart is not merely his technical competence or his experience both in the public and private sector but his foundational philosophy about what a tax agency should be in a 21 century economy.

In previous leadership of the agency, the normal doctrine was accustomed to viewing tax authorities as adversaries rather than partners in progress. Adedeji framed his mission statement through the lens of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s mantra of not taxing poverty but to tax fruits of prosperity.

This simple logic that a tax agency’s success is fundamentally reliant on the success of businesses represents a paradigm shift. Under Adedeji’s leadership, the NRS now positions itself as a service provider to the taxpayers rather than coming across to them as a tax law enforcement agency which gives taxpayers a more inclusive feeling of being part of the system to enhance a symbiotic relationship in progress.

When Adedeji assumed office, this philosophical shift was matched by structural reorganisation. The agency’s internal operations were organised around tax typologies separate units for Value Added Tax, Companies Income Tax, and so forth. The result was often chaotic for businesses with multiple offices writing to the same company, demanding different information about different taxes but the system is unified, simplified and stress-free.

Adedeji flipped the model, Instead of organising around tax types, he reorganised around customers. Taxpayers are now grouped into three categories large, medium, and emerging based on turnover thresholds. Companies with a turnover of N5 billion and above fall into the large taxpayers’ bucket and can pay all their tax obligations at a single, dedicated office. This one-stop shop approach has dramatically reduced the compliance burden. Adedeji has overseen the rollout of multiple digital platforms designed to make tax compliance seamless and perhaps more importantly, to close the loopholes that have historically allowed revenue to leak. The TaxPro-Max system now automates over 80 percent of previously manual processes, reducing bureaucracy while enhancing accuracy. In October 2024, the NRS launched the *829# USSD code, allowing taxpayers to access services retrieving Taxpayer Identification Numbers, verifying tax clearance certificates, checking tax types and rates directly from their mobile phones with no internet access required.

More recently, in August 2025, the agency introduced an electronic invoicing system for companies with an annual turnover of N5 billion or more. Within two weeks of launch, approximately one thousand companies, including industry giants like MTN, Huawei, and IHS, were already onboarded. The e-invoicing system enhances transparency and makes it significantly more difficult for companies to underreport their transactions.

The ripple effects of such digital initiatives extend beyond revenue. Afri Invoice, a local Nigerian company providing e-invoicing solutions, has created 150 new jobs across seven states to meet demand generated by the new system. Another transformative initiative is the National Single Window project, a federal digital platform designed to streamline import and export processes. President Tinubu has commended Adedeji’s role in its adoption, noting that it will enhance transparency and reduce cargo clearance time from 21 days to just one week. For an economy where time spent at ports translates directly to costs, this is not merely an administrative improvement but a competitiveness boost for the nation’s development.

For all the focus on simplifying compliance, Adedeji has simultaneously trained his sights on the darker side of tax administration, the systematic draining of national resources through illicit financial flows. At the National Conference on Illicit Financial Flows held in Abuja in July 2025, the NRS boss delivered a stark diagnosis where he argued that; Nigeria is being undermined by mispriced trade, profit shifting, aggressive avoidance schemes, and financial outflows disguised through legal and accounting loopholes. These practices, he said, are draining revenue meant for core responsibilities delaying infrastructure, weakening healthcare, stalling education, and undermining public safety.

Adedeji established the Proceeds of Crime Management and Illicit Flows Coordination Directorate, a dedicated unit focused specifically on tackling illicit flows and recovering lost assets. Simultaneously, Adedeji has initiated a review of Nigeria’s tax treaties with other countries, many of which were signed decades ago and no longer serve the nation’s interests. Some of the signed treaties even allow companies to move profits out of Nigeria easily. Talks are underway with multiple countries to renegotiate these agreements and close the loopholes.

On the domestic front, he has worked to strengthen inter-agency collaboration, recognising that stopping illicit flows requires coordinated action from Customs, the Central Bank, the EFCC, the ICPC, and others. In a significant move, he inaugurated the Anti-Corruption and Transparency Unit at FIRS, partnering with the ICPC to root out corruption in tax collection itself.

To underpin many of these reforms, commitment to data transparency that is unusual in Nigerian public administration is a must. In August 2025, NRS held its first Research Day, releasing three major resources to the public; the Tax Revenue Statistical Bulletin, containing more than fifty years of tax data from 1970 to 2022; the official Research Policy, setting a framework for transparent studies; and the latest volume of the FIRS Journal of Tax Studies. These materials are now openly available to researchers, journalists, students, and policymakers to ensure the public is informed and better equipped to hold both taxpayers and the tax agency accountable.

For revenue collection, Adedeji’s tenure has been nothing short of extraordinary. In 2023, FIRS collected N12.36 trillion, surpassing its target of N11.55 trillion, 107 percent of the target. In 2024, collections rose to N21.7 trillion against a target of N19.7 trillion. Between September 2023 and August 2025, the first two years of Adedeji’s leadership the Service collected a total of N46 trillion in tax revenue, representing 115 percent of the combined revenue target of N40.07 trillion. Looking at a slightly different period, between October 2023 and September 2025, collections reached N47.39 trillion also 115 percent above target.

Perhaps most significant is the shift in composition as non-oil revenue now accounts for 76 percent of total collections, reflecting the success of diversification and reform initiatives. In the first nine months of 2025 alone, non-oil taxes stood at N17.3 trillion, representing 128 percent of the target for that period. This signals reduced vulnerability to oil price volatility. Nigeria is finally building a tax base that can withstand shocks in global commodity markets. The impact flows through to the federation account. For the first time in a long while, the three tiers of government shared a record monthly allocation in excess of N2 trillion. States and local governments are now better funded and equipped to meet their responsibilities to citizens. Nearly 70 percent of what the three tiers gather monthly comes from tax revenue collected by FIRS now NRS.

Tax-to-GDP ratio, a key measure of tax performance relative to economic size, has climbed from 10 percent when Adedeji took over to 13.5 percent. The target is to beat Africa’s average of 15 percent and reach 18 percent before the end of 2027.

The most enduring legacy of Adedeji’s tenure may prove to be the legislative framework he has helped put in place. Multiple tax laws that were scattered across various legislations creating confusion and room for inconsistent application have now been consolidated and streamlined into one. The new legislative package includes the Nigeria Tax Act 2025, the Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025, the Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria (Establishment) Act 2025, and the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act 2025. Together, they aim to reform obsolete provisions and align Nigeria’s tax system with modern economic practices.

For ordinary Nigerians, the most visible changes will be relief with a reduction in prices of food, education, shared transportation, and agriculture which are now VAT-free. Small businesses with a turnover of N50 million or less will not pay tax. Personal income tax for low-income brackets has been adjusted downward.

Adedeji frames these changes in terms of President Tinubu’s promise to “remove all burdens and hurdles” in the way of businesses to make businesses flourish”.

The metamorphosis of FIRS to NRS; A Name Change That Reflects Current Reality

One of the more symbolic yet substantive changes under Adedeji’s watch has been the proposed renaming of the agency from Federal Inland Revenue Service to Nigeria Revenue Service, which took effect on January 1, 2026. The rationale reveals much about Adedeji’s approach. “The word federal in the name of the agency gives the erroneous impression that we are only collecting tax revenue for the federal government,” he explained. “When you say ‘Inland,’ it wrongly means we are only collecting money from Nigeria, which is not what we are doing”. He points to VAT as an example; 90 percent of VAT collections go to states. A name that suggests a purely federal mandate misrepresents the agency’s actual function as a collector for the entire federation. The new name, NRS, signals that it is the sole tax authority for all revenue collection for the Nigerian federation according to our laws.

For all the impressive statistics, those who work with Adedeji emphasize qualities that don’t appear in spreadsheets. His commitment to staff welfare and capacity building has been noted as a deliberate strategy. Training programs have been prioritized to equip personnel with skills for modern tax administration. The logic is straightforward; a motivated, capable workforce is essential to sustainable reform which will drive policy actualization and also effect positive growth. There is also an inclusive quality to his leadership style. The first Research Day, the open data releases, and the outreach to small businesses reflect an understanding that tax administration cannot succeed in isolation. It requires an engaged public, an informed citizenry, and stakeholders who feel they are partners rather than targets.

Challenges and the Road Ahead

For all the progress, it is not yet Uhuru as significant challenges remain. Nigeria’s tax-to-GDP ratio is at 13.5 percent, which is an improvement, but still trails the African average of 15 percent. The informal sector remains largely untapped, public trust in government institutions, battered by decades of disappointment, cannot be rebuilt overnight. Adedeji is candid about what lies ahead. Tax Evasion will be pretty difficult under the new systems as those who still think they can find a way to game the system will find out that evasion or trying to cut corners will be costlier than being tax-compliant and honest.

There are also the inevitable political dimensions of tax reform. When the new tax laws were passed, some critics questioned whether enough had been done for citizens facing economic pressures. Adedeji pushes back, pointing to the reliefs embedded in the legislation and arguing that the reforms represent the fulfilment of President Tinubu’s electoral promises.

A Different Kind of Public Servant

The story of Zacch Adedeji’s tenure is a portrait of leadership that deviates from the norm in ways both subtle and profound. It is not merely the technical competence though that is evident in the private sector discipline. Still, that, too, is present. It is the combination of philosophical clarity, structural innovation, technological enablement, and human sensitivity that distinguishes his approach. He has rejigged an 83-year-old agency and reimagined its relationship with citizens. He has simplified tax processes while simultaneously making tax evasion more difficult. He has increased revenue without, by most accounts, increasing the burden on compliant businesses and individuals. He has opened data, engaged stakeholders, and built systems designed to outlast any single tenure.

President Tinubu’s birthday tribute to Adedeji in January 2026 captured the essence of what has been achieved. “I salute the NRS chairman for his visionary and charismatic dedication in restructuring, aligning and managing the revenue profile of the country,” the President stated. “He recorded a historic achievement, meeting the budget targets in the third quarter of 2025, and stimulating the economy for prosperity”. For a boy in Iwo-Ate with obscured dreams beyond the cocoa fields, the sojourn has been remarkable. But for Adedeji, the work is far from complete. The systems are being built, the reforms are taking root, but the ultimate test of whether Nigeria can sustainably fund its development from its own resources remains to be fully answered. What is clear is that the tax agency he leads will never be the same again. Perhaps the conversation will be about what it means for a government to collect revenue from its citizens. In a country where the relationship between state and citizen has often been fraught, Adedeji is quietly demonstrating that it doesn’t have to be that way. The relationship must seem first as a partnership and also inclusive, that is deviation from the norm in its most constructive form.