THE chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Zach Adelabu Adedeji, has identified increased revenue generation and infrastructure development as panaceas to economic crisis facing Nigeria.
Adedeji stated this at the Nigerian Politics Online (NPO) Reports national dialogue on challenges facing revenue generation and infrastructure deficit in the country in Abuja on Tuesday, November 26.
The FIRS chief, who was the keynote speaker at the event, said in an era marked by economic uncertainty and fiscal constraints, countries face significant challenges in balancing revenue generation with infrastructural development.
Represented by the director of intergovernmental relations at the FIRS, Umar Idris Ahmed, he opined that effective strategies were vital to sustaining economic growth, enhancing public services, and improving living standards.
He added that to address the challenge of revenue generation and infrastructure, the country must combat corruption, strengthen institutions, empower regulatory bodies and law enforcement agencies, and ensure effective governance and smooth policy implementation.
“Transparency initiatives, accountability mechanisms, and robust regulatory frameworks are essential to reduce corruption and build public trust.
“Empowering regulatory bodies and law enforcement ensures effective governance and smooth policy implementation,” the FIRS chairman stated.
He argued that revenue generation and infrastructure development were pivotal to overcoming the challenges of a constrained economy by adopting transparent, inclusive, and efficient strategies.
According to him, by adopting these strategies, the government can unlock economic potential, foster innovation, and improve public services.
He called for collaboration between public and private institutions, backed by sustainable practices and innovative technologies, to pave the way for resilient and equitable growth.
In his address, the chief executive officer (CEO) of S-OK Advisory and Media Limited, publishers of NPO Reports, Semiu Okanlawon, said the event was the second edition in the series.
He explained that in the previous edition, panelists discussed holding politicians to their campaign promises.
“You can’t just come out and tell people you want to do this just to get their votes only for you to get into offices and forget about those promises,” Okanlawon stated
He said the 2024 edition focused on the huge infrastructure deficit and how the government could raise revenue without overtaxing the citizens.
In his remarks, the chairman of the occasion, a former postmaster general of the federation, Ismail Adebayo Adewusi, said one of the major problems confronting the nation was government’s approach to revenue generation. He posited that the issue was not new.
He pleaded that as the country pushed for reforms, it must ensure that revenue generation does not come at the expense of social equity.
During a panel discussion, the executive director of Upshot Media, Mojeed Jamiu, said there should be a correlation between the increase in revenue generation, an increase in the country’s external reserves, and the livelihood of an average citizen.
Another panellist at the occasion, a senior research fellow at the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research, (NISER), Hakeem Tijani, said tax rate hike often increased poverty.
A reporter with the ICIR
A Journalist with a niche for quality and a promoter of good governance