Adedeji: Armed Forces’ Activities Key to Domestic Revenue Drive

James Emejo in Abuja

The Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Dr. Zacch Adedeji, has said the country’s armed forces remain crucial to domestic revenue mobilisation.

Speaking while receiving the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, who paid him a courtesy visit in his office, Adedeji, called for the strengthening of the existing mutually beneficial relationship between the armed forces and FIRS to enhance the latter’s tax collection drive.

FIRS has a revenue target of N19.41 trillion as contained in the Medium-term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) 2024 compared to the services’ N18.68 trillion revenue projection for the year. It collected N12.37 trillion in 2023, surpassing the target by N816 billion.

In a statement, issued by his Special Adviser on Media, Mr. Dare Adekanmbi, Adedeji said that prosperity and development would be difficult to achieve in an insecure environment.

Under the new FIRS operational structure which was recently unveiled, Adedeji said the service has a responsibility to create a conducive environment for businesses to thrive and operate profitably to pay taxes to the government.

He said: “A lot of people will ask: What’s the relationship between the Armed Forces and the FIRS? What you will hear President Bola Tinubu say at all times is that we will not tax the seeds, but the fruits from them. This means when we plant the seeds, we water it to grow.

“The Armed Forces personnel are the people who help us to guide the vineyard where the seeds are planted, especially in the oil and gas industry. They make it possible for us to go into the vineyards to pluck the fruits,” he said.

Addressing the defence staff chief, alongside other generals who accompanied him, Adedeji said: “Without you, we will not have the right fruits. If there is no security, there is no way prosperity can happen. We are interested in prosperity because that is what we want to tax.

“So, there is a symbiotic relationship between the Armed Forces and FIRS. We don’t take this relationship for granted.  When companies don’t run as a result of insecurity, they will not make profits and when they don’t make profit, there will be nothing to tax.

“That is why the welfare of members of the Armed Forces and security operatives in general is number one on the agenda of President Bola Tinubu.

“It is when we have security that prosperity can come and it is when there is prosperity that we will have the revenue to give to the federation.”

Earlier, Musa had pledged the support of the military to FIRS in its determination to make available the needed revenue for government services.

He said: “The more FIRS succeeds, the more Nigeria benefits from the institution. So, FIRS is very crucial to the government and to us as members of the armed forces as well as to the country.

“We are also here to show our commitment to ensuring that we give you all support whenever it is needed so you can do your job without any harassment or intimidation from any quarters.

“FIRS can raise funds for the federation. We know the importance of taxation and how it brings development. We are beginning to have awareness from members of the public who now realise that the taxes they pay are important for the development of the country.”