The Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Dr. Zacch Adedeji, remains committed to delivering the promised benefits of Nigeria’s new tax laws, despite a recent call for his immediate removal, according to a civic group.
Dependable NG reports that the spokesperson of the group, Guardian of Truth, Clement Kolawole, issued a statement on Saturday, asserting that Adedeji is focused on ensuring the new tax laws bring significant reliefs to ordinary Nigerians and effectively end the practice of multiple taxation for businesses starting in the new year.
Kolawole was reacting to comments by a federal lawmaker, Ikenga Ugochinyere, who had called for the dismissal of both the Minister of Finance and the FIRS Chairman over alleged unpaid funds owed to various government contractors, totaling about N4 trillion.
The group spokesperson described the lawmaker’s call as “laughable” and based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the agency’s core mandate.
Kolawole clarified the FIRS role: “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 pointed out that the agency’s consistently strong revenue performance under Adedeji should not be misinterpreted as 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 stated, reminding the lawmaker that most of the funds shared monthly by the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) come from FIRS collections.
Kolawole stressed that the FIRS Chairman is not distracted by the baseless call and remains fully focused on his commitment to implementing a modern, people-focused tax system.
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