Business

NASS Thumbs FIRS for hitting N21.6trillion in 2024

Published

10 months ago

January 15, 2025

…tasks it to hit N25trillion in 2025

By Joel Ajayi

It was commendation galore for the Executive Chairman of Federal Inland Revenue Service ( FIRS ) , Mr Zacch Adedeji in the National Assembly on Wednesday for surpassing revenue collection target of N19.4trillion in 2024 to N21. 6trillion .

Impressed by the performance, the National Assembly through its joint committee on Finance , proposed N25trillion tax collection or revenue generation target for FIRS in 2025 fiscal year .

First to make the commendation after presentation made by the FIRS boss on revenue collection performance of the agency in 2024 and projection for 2025, was the Deputy Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Finance , Hon Saidu Musa Abdullahi who described the performance as unprecedented.
” The feat attained by FIRS on revenue collection or generation in 2024 was unprecedented and a very wonderful one , worthy of commendation .

” That you surpassed the target set for the agency in the 2024 Appropriation Act , from N19.4trillion to N21.6trillion , is very cheering and encouraging “, he said .

He however urged the FIRS boss to understudy the template being used in South Africa which according to him, generates revenue from tax collections far above that of Nigeria despite having smaller population of about 45 to 54million people when compared to 200million population in Nigeria .

” We shall give you total support on your tax reform but you need to bring in more number of taxable citizens into net from the informal sector “, he said.

Also commending FIRS for surpassing projected tax revenue in 2024, Senator Joel – Onowakpo Thomas ( Delta South ) in his remarks , said taxes all over the world is the way to go , the very reason , FIRS must deepen the process through planned reform.

He suggested that the committee should increase projected revenue for FIRS in 2025 to N30trillion .

Senator Binos Yeroe ( Adamawa South) , also commended the FIRS boss for the initiatives and innovations deployed in surpassing tax collection revenue target in 2024 .
” Your performance in 2024 , was highly commendable and wish you keep it up “, he said .
Hon Etanabene Benedict added to the commendation galore for the FIRS boss in his remarks by saying ” If we do well on tax collections or revenue generation , we will not borrow to fund our budget . Going by the feat attained by FIRS in 2024, urge this committee to project N60trillion tax collection or revenue generation for it in 2025″.

However, the Chairmen of the committee in their separate closing remarks , told the FIRS boss that the N25trillion projected for the agency in 2025 is what he should work with and possibly surpassed as done in 2024.

Senator Sani Musa in particular , said : “FIRS should Work with the N25trillion projected revenue set for it in 2025 . It is achievable and even surpassable “.

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Business

TAJBank Emerges Nigeria’s Biggest Non-Interest Bank

Published

2 weeks ago

October 23, 2025

The Gleamer

Cyril Ogar

After five years of operations in Nigeria’s rapidly evolving non-interest banking (NIB) space, TAJBank Limited has become the biggest player in the NIB subsector based on its total assets and gross earnings values.

Disclosing this during his paper presentation on the key performance indices in the non-interest banking space over the past few years at a seminar organized by Leaders Corporate Services with the theme “Roles of Non-Interest Banks In SMEs’ Financing” for SME entrepreneurs yesterday in Abuja, an investment expert, Mr. Olabode Akeredolu-Ale, maintained that based on the non-interest banks’ approved financial statements for the half year 2025, TAJBank currently remained the biggest in terms of its total assets.

The expert, a chartered stockbroker, specifically confirmed that his recent investment researches on the NIBs and their financial performances showed that TAJBank, with its total assets rising to N1.017 trillion in half year 2025 up from N953.098 billion as of December 2024, which is about N53 billion higher than the nearest NIB’s assets, now ranked top in the banking subsector.

According to him, TAJBank’s gross earnings for H1 2025 also surged to N53.752 billion from N32.86 billion as of December 2024, representing a 64% growth, and higher than the nearest NIB’s gross earnings in the period under review.

This is even as he disclosed that on the NIBs’ earnings per share during the half year, TAJBank reported N61.36 kobo earnings per share, about 92% higher than the earnings per share of the next NIB during the period.

Akeredolu-Ale, who is also a chartered accountant, clarified: “The figures I am reeling out here on the NIBs are sourced from the banking and capital market regulatory institutions’ platforms, which anyone can access to verify.

“I am part of this event because of my research interest in non-interest banking and how the players in the subsector in Nigeria can help to leverage their competencies in innovation and ethical banking to support our MSMEs.

“Today, the MSMEs cannot access DMBs’ loans due to high lending rates and other inclement macroeconomic factors. This is where I think the NIBs have become very crucial to Nigeria’s economic growth.

“Overall, my findings on the NIBs indicated that they are all trying their best with non-interest loans to support entrepreneurs, particularly the MSMEs owners. I have advised those of them at this seminar to explore the cost-friendly financing options of the NIBs to grow their businesses by opening accounts with the NIBs”, the expert added.

Another speaker at the event, Benjamin Chukwudi, also commended the NIBs for their “catalytic roles in helping SMEs to access interest-free loans and providing them the needed financial management advisory, which have been helping them in sustaining their operations in the face of rising cost of doing business in the country.”

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