The Executive Chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service, NRS, Dr Zacch Adedeji, has said that the growing protests and public criticism trailing the new tax reforms are largely driven by political interests rather than genuine defects in the law.
Adedeji stated this during an interview on Arise Television, where he defended the reforms and clarified what he described as widespread misconceptions about Nigeria’s tax structure and the intent of the new law.
According to him, many of the arguments being pushed in the public space ignore the basic distinctions between income tax, transactional taxes such as Value Added Tax, and withholding tax, which he explained is a prepaid form of tax.
“Many Nigerians pay Pay As You Earn. In addition, banks collect VAT and file the necessary documentation. Transactional taxes like VAT apply to everyone irrespective of income. Income tax focuses on earnings, but paying income tax does not exempt anyone from transactional taxes,” Adedeji said.
He further explained that withholding tax is not an additional levy imposed on citizens, but an advance payment based on income generated from transactions.
“It is simply tax that you have paid in advance based on the income you have generated. So even if you are on PAYE, you still pay transactional taxes,” he added.
Addressing concerns about the timing of the reforms, the NRS chairman said the law was passed by the National Assembly in June 2025 and signed into law by the President the same month, stressing that its implementation followed due process.
“The law has been in effect since June when the President assented to it. What started on January 1 was only the implementation of rates after a six-month adjustment period. That is standard practice in Nigerian tax administration,” he said.
Adedeji also dismissed claims that the tax reforms could be used to target political opponents ahead of the 2027 general elections, insisting that the revenue service remains a non partisan institution.
“The Nigeria Revenue Service is Nigeria, not a Political Revenue Service. There is no way we would do that. We are patriotic civil servants working for the progress and prosperity of the country,” he stated.
On calls by some groups for the suspension of the law, Adedeji warned that such demands were unrealistic and potentially harmful to national stability.
“When people say they want to suspend the law, what will happen to Nigeria. Nobody can suspend the law. You need to look at the motive behind such statements,” he said, linking some protests to attempts to frustrate the gains of the reforms.
He noted that a key objective of the new tax framework is to ease the burden on low income earners, revealing that a significant portion of vulnerable Nigerians have been exempted.
“One focus of this reform is to give relief to the poor. More than 95 percent of the poor are totally exempted. VAT has been removed on all food items and transportation. When you look at the net benefit, the poor are the most positively affected,” Adedeji explained.
Reacting to fears about bank transactions and alleged government monitoring of personal accounts, the NRS boss described such claims as misinformation.
“No tax authority, whether state or federal, will pry into your bank account. Issues about narration and additional charges are false. We do not monitor personal transfers beyond what the law allows,” he said.
He urged Nigerians to see tax compliance as a civic duty, noting that the service is more focused on support and guidance than enforcement.
“Filing your tax returns is a civic responsibility. We are here to help, not to act as police officers,” he said.
Adedeji concluded by describing the reforms as a rare opportunity to reset Nigeria’s fiscal framework for long term growth.
“This reform is a one generation opportunity to set a fiscal standard that will sustain prosperity. We are improving revenue administration, strengthening compliance, and ensuring that government spending aligns with national development priorities,” he added.
He maintained that while resistance is expected in the early stages, the long term benefits of the reforms would outweigh the current concerns, especially for low income earners and the overall stability of Nigeria’s revenue system.
