The new chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, Dr. Zacch Adedeji, said yesterday that the nation is in a revenue crisis and requires urgent steps to change the narrative.
Adedeji, who stated this while taking over the mantle of leadership of the agency from his predecessor, Muhammad Nami, noted 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.
The new FIRS chairman stated that the country is in a revenue crisis as government revenue is low amid a huge public debt.
On his agenda to optimise revenue generation, he noted that he would key into the reforms being made by President Bola Tinubu who has since inaugurated a Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee.
The new tax-master pledged to eliminate leakages in the system, with a view to raking in all tax revenues into government coffers.
He therefore charged management and staff to “work with uncompromising integrity, uphold taxpayers’ confidentiality, and demonstrate a high level of professionalism, fairness and show exemplary public service.”
