The Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Zacch Adedeji, has said the country’s dwindling revenue requires reforms.
Adedeji stated this in Ilesa, Osun State, on Friday while delivering the University of Ilesa 2025 Distinguished Lecture Series titled “Economic Resilience in an Era of Dwindling Revenue”, the first in the series. He said to weather the storm of unstable revenue, the country must embrace reforms anchored on four pillars.
Using Nigeria’s key economic indicators—such as Gross Domestic Product growth, tax-to-GDP ratio, oil revenue share, and debt service to revenue ratio—Adedeji said the country has made progress.
Despite the improvement, he declared that the country’s fiscal condition remained fragile, making rationalised expenditure, expansion of the tax base, and adoption of stronger fiscal rules such as debt ceilings, among others, a necessity.
The FIRS boss also said the country must have a broadened and equitable revenue system. He listed disciplined and transparent public financial management, a diversified economic base, and strong and accountable institutions as additional reforms that must be implemented.
He warned that the country’s revenue situation could not be addressed with half measures or politically expedient actions, but requires strategic foresight, institutional resilience, and intergenerational thinking.
He further said, “One truth stands out: dwindling revenue is not the end of the road; it is a call to reform. Our fiscal pressures are undeniable; debt service obligations are high, traditional revenue sources are evolving, and societal demands are intensifying.
