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Zacch Adedeji

When Zacch Adedeji assumed leadership of Nigeria’s apex federal tax agency in September 2023, the assignment before him went beyond collecting taxes.

Nigeria was dealing with constrained public finances, a heavy dependence on oil-related revenues, a fragmented tax system, compliance challenges and growing demands for government to find more sustainable ways of financing development.

Three years into his tenure, first as Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and now as Executive Chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), the numbers, institutional changes and technology-driven reforms have come to define a period of significant transformation in Nigeria’s revenue administration.

Adedeji was appointed acting Chairman of FIRS by President Bola Tinubu on September 14, 2023, following the directive for then-chairman Muhammad Nami to proceed on terminal leave. He was subsequently confirmed by the Senate in October 2023 for a four-year term.

An accountant and public finance specialist, Adedeji came into the position with experience spanning corporate accounting, public administration and public finance. He had previously served as Commissioner for Finance in Oyo State and Executive Secretary of the National Sugar Development Council.

From the outset, his message was that Nigeria’s revenue challenge was not simply about imposing more taxes. It was about improving the quality of information available to government, widening the tax base, reducing leakages, deploying technology and building a system in which compliance could become easier and more predictable.

At his Senate screening, Adedeji identified data as a central weakness in revenue administration. He spoke about the need to improve information in sectors such as oil and gas, strengthen identification systems and use data to identify areas where revenue was being lost.

That philosophy would become a recurring theme of his tenure.

The Numbers Begin To Move

Perhaps the clearest measure of Adedeji’s tenure is the trajectory of tax collections.

According to figures reported by the NRS, tax revenue collection rose from N12.3 trillion in 2023 to N21.7 trillion in 2024, exceeding the N19.4 trillion target for that year. In 2025, total collection reached N28.3 trillion, above the N25.2 trillion target.

The 2025 figure represented an increase of more than 30 per cent over the N25.5 trillion reported for 2024. Non-oil taxes accounted for N21.4 trillion of the 2025 collection, compared with an N18 trillion projection.

The significance of the figures lies not only in their size but in what they suggest about the changing composition of government revenue.

FIRS-NRS

For years, Nigeria’s fiscal conversation has revolved around oil. Adedeji’s tenure has coincided with a stronger emphasis on domestic taxation and broader revenue mobilisation.

The direction was visible in the agency’s targets. After exceeding its 2025 target, the NRS set a 2026 target of N40.71 trillion, 44 per cent above the previous year’s target. The broader target incorporates taxes, petroleum earnings, mineral royalties and other revenue streams following changes in the agency’s mandate.

By the first half of 2026, the NRS had reported N21.6 trillion in tax revenue, compared with N14.27 trillion in the corresponding period of 2025, according to reports on the agency’s performance.

These figures have become central to discussions about Adedeji’s tenure.

But revenue collection is only one part of the story.

From FIRS To NRS

One of the most consequential developments during Adedeji’s tenure has been institutional.

In June 2025, President Tinubu signed four tax reform laws following their passage by the National Assembly. They included the Nigeria Tax Act, the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, the Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Act and the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Act.

The reforms replaced the FIRS framework with the Nigeria Revenue Service and sought to consolidate and modernise the country’s tax administration architecture. The State House described the new structure as a move towards a more harmonised framework covering tax administration and cooperation among revenue authorities.

The Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025, states that its objectives include facilitating tax compliance and optimising tax revenue, while providing a framework for administering taxes across the federation.

For Adedeji, the change was more than a new name on an agency’s letterhead.

It represented an attempt to reposition revenue administration as a central component of fiscal management.

The transition also came with a major implementation challenge. The government had to move taxpayers, businesses, tax professionals and revenue officials from an older legal and administrative framework into a new system.

Adedeji announced in June 2025 that the new tax framework would commence from January 1, 2026, allowing time for sensitisation, planning and system adjustments.

The implementation subsequently became part of a broader national debate over taxation, business costs, compliance and the distribution of the tax burden.

The government maintained that the reforms were designed to create a more coherent system rather than simply increase taxes. The State House said the laws were intended to harmonise the framework, improve the business environment and strengthen domestic revenue mobilisation.

Technology As The New Tax Office

Perhaps nowhere is the change under Adedeji more visible than in the agency’s push towards digital administration.

The NRS has increasingly moved away from paper-heavy processes and physical interactions towards platforms that allow taxpayers to register, file returns, make payments, access tax clearance documents, manage assessments and track refunds digitally.

Its taxpayer self-service portal now provides access to these functions, including e-invoicing and self-tax filing.

In 2025, the agency began implementing its electronic invoicing and Electronic Fiscal System, known as the Merchant Buyer Solution.

The system is designed to improve visibility over transactions, strengthen compliance and reduce opportunities for under-reporting. It began with large taxpayers and was subsequently expanded through a phased approach. The NRS said pilot deployment had begun in January 2025 after stakeholder consultations.

The objective is straightforward: instead of relying primarily on periodic declarations, the tax authority can increasingly use digital information to understand transactions as they happen.

That shift has implications for both taxpayers and the government.

For compliant businesses, digital processes can reduce paperwork and administrative delays. For the revenue authority, electronic records can provide stronger tools for identifying discrepancies and improving compliance.

The NRS’s official e-invoicing platform describes the system as a way to simplify compliance, reduce errors and improve efficiency.

Then came Rev360.

The Rev360 Era

In 2026, the NRS launched Rev360 as part of what it describes as its transition to Tax Administration 3.0.

The platform is designed to integrate taxpayer interactions and provide a more data-driven approach to registration, filing, payments, compliance and other tax functions.

At its launch, Adedeji described the platform as part of a transformation aimed at creating a more intelligent and taxpayer-focused administration.

The significance of Rev360 lies in its potential to change the relationship between the taxpayer and the revenue authority.

Traditionally, tax administration in Nigeria has often been associated with physical offices, paperwork, assessments and prolonged interactions.

The emerging model is different.

A taxpayer can increasingly interact with the NRS through digital channels without having to visit a tax office for every transaction.

That does not eliminate the challenges of compliance, but it changes the infrastructure through which compliance is managed.

For Adedeji, technology has therefore become less of an accessory to tax administration and more of its operating foundation.

Data, Compliance And The Informal Economy

The broader challenge remains the size and complexity of Nigeria’s economy.

Millions of economic activities take place outside formal structures, while businesses operate across multiple sectors and jurisdictions.

A modern revenue service needs information capable of identifying taxpayers, understanding transactions and distinguishing between genuine compliance difficulties and deliberate avoidance.

This is why Adedeji’s early emphasis on data has remained relevant.

The NRS has increasingly used digital platforms and information systems to broaden visibility across the economy.

The aim is not simply to pursue existing taxpayers more aggressively, but to identify economic activity that has historically remained outside the effective tax net.

That distinction is important.

A sustainable revenue system cannot depend indefinitely on repeatedly increasing demands on the same group of compliant taxpayers. It must broaden participation while improving the quality of administration.

Adedeji has repeatedly framed the philosophy around taxing prosperity rather than poverty.

In an August 2026 interview, he said the NRS’s interest was connected to the performance of businesses and individuals, arguing that stronger economic performance would ultimately produce stronger tax receipts.

That approach places economic growth and revenue mobilisation in the same conversation.

A New Relationship With Taxpayers

Another dimension of the reforms has been the attempt to make taxpayer engagement more structured.

The implementation of the new tax laws required consultations with businesses, professional bodies, tax practitioners and other stakeholders.

The e-invoicing rollout also involved consultations and pilot programmes before wider implementation.

This stakeholder approach matters because tax administration is ultimately a relationship between the state and the economic actors who finance it.

Businesses need clarity about obligations. Individuals need accessible channels for compliance. Government needs reliable revenue. And the system needs mechanisms for resolving disputes.

Adedeji’s tenure has therefore increasingly involved building systems around these interactions rather than treating tax collection as a purely enforcement-driven exercise.

The philosophy is reflected in the NRS’s digital platforms and its emphasis on voluntary compliance.

Beyond The Collection Figures

The strongest case for judging Adedeji’s three-year tenure is ultimately broader than revenue figures.

The institutional architecture around revenue has changed.

The legal framework has been rewritten.

The FIRS has been transformed into the NRS.

Digital tax administration has accelerated.

Electronic invoicing has moved from concept to implementation.

Rev360 has been introduced.

Revenue collections have risen significantly.

And the government has set progressively larger targets for domestic mobilisation.

Yet, these achievements also create new expectations.

Higher collection figures must eventually translate into stronger fiscal capacity across government. A more efficient tax administration must be accompanied by public confidence. Digital systems must be accessible and reliable. Businesses must be able to understand their obligations. Enforcement must be balanced with fairness and due process.

The reforms therefore cannot be measured only by how much money enters government accounts.

Their longer-term test will be whether Nigeria can build a revenue system that is predictable, transparent, efficient and capable of supporting economic growth without placing disproportionate pressure on compliant taxpayers.

That is the larger assignment facing the NRS.

Three Years, A Larger Mandate

Adedeji’s three years at the helm have coincided with one of the most significant periods of change in Nigeria’s fiscal and tax administration landscape in recent years.

He inherited an agency primarily known to Nigerians as FIRS.

FIRS-NRS
FIRS-NRS

He now leads an institution operating under the broader Nigeria Revenue Service framework and a substantially revised legal architecture.

His tenure has been marked by a combination of higher collection figures, institutional restructuring, technology deployment, expanded data use and the implementation of a new tax regime.

The journey has not been without debate.

Tax reform inevitably affects households, workers, businesses and investors, making questions about fairness, compliance costs and implementation unavoidable. The scale of the reforms has also generated public discussion about how the new system should work in practice.

But the direction is clear.

Nigeria is attempting to move from a revenue system heavily constrained by fragmented administration towards one built around digital infrastructure, broader participation, better data and more coordinated fiscal management.

At the centre of that transition is Zacch Adedeji.

Three years after taking the chairmanship, the record shows an administration that has sought to redefine the job from collecting taxes to building a modern revenue institution.

The next phase may prove even more important than the first.

The foundations have been laid through legislation, technology and institutional restructuring. The task now is implementation at scale.

For Adedeji, the challenge is no longer simply to demonstrate that the revenue service can collect more.

It is to show that a modern revenue institution can make compliance easier, broaden the tax base, improve transparency and provide government with a dependable foundation for financing national development.

That is the real measure of the stride from FIRS to NRS.

 

The Traffic NG
Zacch Adedeji
Amarachi Ihesiulo
The Traffic NG

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