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Zacch Adedeji: Tackling tax evasion and illicit financial flows

Published

1 year ago

July 29, 2025

By Aderonke Atoyebi

At the “National Conference on Illicit Financial Flows” held in Abuja on 22 July, Mr Zacch Adedeji, executive chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service, spoke directly to the issue. He outlined how Nigeria’s tax system is being undermined by mispriced trade, profit shifting, aggressive avoidance schemes, and financial outflows disguised through legal and accounting loopholes. These practices, he said, are draining the country of revenue meant for core responsibilities, delaying infrastructure, weakening healthcare, stalling education, and undermining public safety.

Why does Nigeria, a country blessed with oil, gas, minerals, and millions of hardworking people, still struggle to meet its financial responsibilities? Why are public schools often in poor condition, hospitals lacking supplies, and some infrastructure projects delayed for years? Why does the government continue to borrow even when taxes are being paid, oil revenues are recorded, and businesses are making profits?

The answers are not difficult to find. They are in what experts describe as illicit financial flows. These are funds that are meant to support development within Nigeria but are quietly moved elsewhere. This happens through tax avoidance schemes, manipulated trade invoices, the use of anonymous companies, and international agreements that no longer reflect Nigeria’s current needs. This is not simply an issue of wrongdoing. It is a question of systems, of influence, and of long-standing practices that have allowed wealth to move out, while public services remain behind.

The gathering brought together stakeholders including Mrs Doris Uzoka-Anite, minister of Industry, Trade and Investment; Irene Ovonji-Odida of the United Nations High-Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows; and representatives of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nigeria Customs Service, the Central Bank of Nigeria, and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Tax Boss said it as it is. He connected the loss to the consequences. What leaves Nigeria through these channels is not just money, but a lost opportunity. He reminded the room that no government can meet the needs of its people if it allows its revenue to be quietly extracted and transferred elsewhere. In pointing out the harm, he also placed responsibility not only on external actors but on institutions at home to strengthen the systems that protect national resources.

If we recall, Mr Zacch Adedeji has been active on multiple fronts. Not long ago, he inaugurated the Anti-Corruption and Transparency Unit at FIRS, working closely with ICPC to root out corruption in tax collection and ensure honesty in how revenue is gathered. This shows he is not just talking about change; he is making it happen.

The Tax Boss also made it clear that Nigeria must review its tax treaties with other countries. Many of these were signed decades ago and do not serve the country’s current interests. Some even allow companies to move profits out of Nigeria easily. He has started talks with several countries to change these deals and close the loopholes.

He spoke about data. About making sure Nigeria can see, in real time, what money is coming in, where it is going, and whether it is being properly taxed. He said it is not acceptable for the country to be blind to financial movements happening in its economy. He mentioned that FIRS is building a modern data engine that can track transactions more efficiently. This is what it means to upgrade the tools of revenue protection.

Another important point he made was about unity. He said the work of stopping illicit financial flows is not for FIRS alone. It will require the Nigeria Customs Service, the Central Bank, the EFCC, the ICPC, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Trade, and even international partners. Everyone must be on the same page.

If we are paying attention, we will also remember that the FIRS now has a new directorate focused specifically on tackling illicit flows and recovering lost assets. It is called the Proceeds of Crime Management and Illicit Flows Coordination Directorate. It didn’t exist before. This is part of what the Tax Boss created to make sure the work is not just theoretical but backed by a unit with the power and capacity to act. The directorate is designed to coordinate internally and externally, especially with other law enforcement and anti-corruption agencies.

Mr Zacch Adedeji came with the voice of someone who understands that Nigeria is bleeding revenue and that this bleeding must stop. His words did not blame others. They called for action, for systems, for collaboration, and for urgent reforms that reflect the reality of our economy in 2025, not that of 1985.

The Tax Boss is not just managing a revenue agency. He is confronting a system that for years has quietly allowed the wealth of our dear nation to leak out without accountability. He is bringing the matter to the table, bringing people into the room, building structures, and facing what many before him avoided. The work is not done. Mr Zacch Adedeji is not doing guesswork. This kind of leadership is rare. It is serious, focused, and rooted in national interest.

Aderonke Atoyebi is the technical assistant on broadcast media to the executive chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service.

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Strategic Partnerships, Diaspora Investment and Improved Workforce Critical to Industrialization-DG RMRDC

Published

39 mins ago

November 12, 2026

The Gleamer

By: Stella Azi and Adaora Adibe

The Director-General/Chief Executive Officer of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Prof. Nnanyelugo Ike-Muonso, has called for a strategic shift from the exportation of raw commodities to domestic processing, manufacturing and value addition, declaring that Nigeria possesses enormous untapped raw material resources capable of driving industrialisation, creating jobs and strengthening the country’s economic competitiveness.

Prof. Ike-Muonso made this submission in a lecture titled Unlocking Nigeria’s Raw Material Value Chain for Industrialization, Manufacturing and Competitiveness, where he presented an extensive assessment of Nigeria’s resource endowments, industrial challenges and emerging investment opportunities across agricultural commodities, solid minerals and waste-based raw materials.

The lecture highlighted a combined US$2.65 trillion global market opportunity across 30 major raw material value chains, comprising 12 agricultural value chains valued at US$932 billion, 11 mineral value chains worth US$1.352 trillion and seven circular-economy value chains estimated at US$366 billion.

According to the RMRDC Boss, Nigeria must move beyond the traditional approach of extracting and exporting raw materials to building competitive domestic industries that transform these resources into intermediate products, industrial inputs and finished goods for local consumption and international markets.

He observed that the country’s manufacturing sector has struggled to sustain its 2014 peak, with its contribution to real Gross Domestic Product declining from 9.64 per cent in 2014 to 8.05 per cent in 2025, representing a 16.5 per cent decline. He also drew attention to the increasing cost of raw material imports, which rose to US$20.5 billion in 2025, approximately six times the 2020 level.

He explained that the growing dependence on imported industrial inputs exposes Nigerian manufacturers to foreign exchange volatility, increases production costs and weakens the competitiveness of locally manufactured products.

Prof. ke-Muonso stressed that the solution lies in developing domestic raw material value chains through deliberate investment in processing facilities, research and development, technology, infrastructure and stronger linkages between producers, processors and manufacturers.

He identified agriculture, solid minerals and industrial waste as three major resource platforms for Nigeria’s industrial transformation, stating the country’s significant production capacity and the enormous opportunities available for downstream processing.

Ike-Muonso noted that Nigeria produces over 63 million metric tonnes of cassava annually, making it the world’s largest producer, while also maintaining strong positions in cocoa, cashew, sesame, palm oil and cotton. However, more than 80 per cent of agricultural output leaves farms without adequate processing, resulting in the loss of significant economic value and industrial opportunities.

In the solid minerals sector, he identified more than 44 commercially viable minerals across over 500 locations, including lithium, gold, barite, bitumen, iron ore and high-grade limestone, describing them as strategic resources capable of supporting steel production, energy storage, electrification and advanced manufacturing.

The DG further drew attention to Nigeria’s industrial and agro-waste resources, noting that the country generates over 32 million tonnes of solid waste annually. He explained that agricultural residues, cassava peels, scrap metals, plastics and electronic waste could serve as important feedstock for bio-fertilisers, industrial chemicals, recycled polymers, energy production and other manufacturing applications.

In the agricultural sector, the DG identified cassava and industrial starch, cotton and natural textiles, natural rubber and elastomers, oil palm and oleochemicals, maize derivatives and cocoa processing as priority areas requiring increased investment.

He explained that processing agricultural commodities into industrial starch, sweeteners, textiles, technical rubber, specialty fats and other intermediate products would enable Nigeria to capture more value from its agricultural resources while reducing dependence on imported industrial inputs.

For the minerals sector, he highlighted crude oil-to-olefins and petrochemicals, lithium and energy storage, iron ore and steel, rare earth elements, bauxite and aluminium, and copper and electrification as strategic investment opportunities.

He particularly emphasised the importance of moving beyond mineral extraction into beneficiation, refining, battery precursors, industrial chemicals, metal fabrication and advanced materials production.

On the circular economy, Prof. Ike-Muonso identified electronic waste recovery, scrap metal recycling, plastic waste processing, agro-waste valorisation and battery recycling as emerging industrial opportunities.

He explained that transforming waste into productive industrial feedstock would not only reduce environmental pollution but also create new manufacturing industries, generate employment and reduce the importation of valuable industrial materials.

He noted that to address the structural challenges confronting raw material-based industrialisation, the DG highlighted the strategic interventions of the RMRDC, particularly the proposed 30% Value Addition Bill and the Nigeria Integrated Information Statistical System for Raw Materials and Products (NISSRAMP).

He described the 30% Value Addition Bill as an important policy instrument designed to encourage domestic processing of raw materials before export, strengthen local manufacturing capacity and guarantee access to essential raw materials for Nigerian industries, and NISSRAMP as a critical data infrastructure that would improve access to verified information on the availability, location and quality of raw materials.

According to him, the combination of appropriate policy instruments and reliable resource data would help de-risk investments, improve transparency and strengthen confidence in Nigeria’s raw material sector.

He emphasised the importance of collaboration among government, academia and industry in developing bankable projects, sharing investment risks and accelerating the establishment of processing and manufacturing facilities.

Professor Ike-Muonso called on Nigerians in the diaspora and other local and international investors to take advantage of the opportunities available in Nigeria’s raw material sector.

He identified industrial processing parks, mineral beneficiation and refining, agro-industrial platforms, circular-material processing, industrial input manufacturing and enabling infrastructure as viable investment platforms.

He noted that diaspora investors could contribute beyond financial capital by bringing technology, international business networks, governance standards, technical expertise and access to global markets.

He maintained that Nigeria’s industrial transformation requires coordinated investment across the entire value chain, from raw material sourcing and aggregation to processing, manufacturing, certification and export development.

Professor Ike-Muonso stressed that the country’s industrial future would depend not merely on the volume of raw materials extracted but on the capacity to transform them into competitive products that meet domestic and international market requirements.

He maintained that developing local value chains would stimulate industrial growth, create employment opportunities, diversify exports, conserve foreign exchange and deepen Nigeria’s technological capabilities.

Through its strategic interventions, the RMRDC is positioning itself as a critical bridge between resource availability, investment opportunities and industrial competitiveness, with the ultimate objective of transforming Nigeria from a predominantly raw material exporting economy into a strong manufacturing and value-adding nation.

Ike-Muonso has demonstrated this since assumption of office as the Director General/ CEO RMRDC in the area of capacity building, improved working conditions, promotion of merit, and maintaining a conducive environment that rewards excellence, innovation and dedication. This is evident in his institution of RMRDC training school, reward for winners of the RMRDC innovation challenge among others.

His commitment has brought recognition both nationally and internationally: Al-Jazirah double honour awards as Public Servant /Government Agency of the year 2024-2025 and the recent election as the Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Representative on the Board of the World Association of Industrial and Technological Research Organisations (WAITRO) is a attestation to his commitment.

Concluding the lecture, the DG charged staff, researchers, manufacturers and investors to see themselves as nation builders in the new era of raw materials-led industrialization.

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