FIRS Saved Nigeria From Fiscal Crisis With Tax Revenue— RMAFC Chairman

The Chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Bimbo Kolade, has said that the leadership of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) saved Nigeria from experiencing a fiscal crisis.

The RMFAC Chair said this on Thursday at the inauguration of the joint technical committee to enhance tax revenue oversight and promote fiscal stability across Nigeria’s federal, state, and local governments.

Kolade explained that the availability of reliable revenue, largely from taxes collected by the FIRS and distributed during the monthly Federation Allocation Account Committee meetings, enables all tiers of government to plan and execute development projects.

He further noted that in 2024, taxes collected by FIRS made up a certain percentage of the total revenue shared among the three tiers of government, underscoring tax revenue as the primary source of income, surpassing earnings from crude oil managed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.

Kolade also praised the FIRS chairman, Zacch Adedeji, for his performance and leadership since assuming office in September 2023.

He said, “If not for the wonderful job our chairman has been doing since September 2023 at the service, Nigerians may have been crying a little more with what we have passed through.

“With your dedication, commitment and stellar performance, we can see that the country has been the better for it. I also want to congratulate Dr Adedeji on the success of the tax reform bills.

“We could see the initial misunderstanding that came with the bills, even the little difference between RMAFC and FIRS on the issue of VAT allocation and the rest of them.

“But then, because of the kind of person the FIRS chairman is, he called our chairman, and it was resolved.

“At RMAFC, we have various committees that oversee various parts of government organisations that we need to monitor. One of the federal agencies is FIRS.

“This RMAFC was put in place to monitor tax revenue by ensuring that all taxes, such as Value-Added Tax, Companies Income Tax and the rest are properly collected and remitted into the federation accounts,.”

FIRS Saved Nigeria From Fiscal Crisis With Tax Revenue— RMAFC Chairman is first published on The Whistler Newspaper