By Tgnews Reporter
Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service plunged into crisis Wednesday as a coalition of anti-corruption groups accused Chairman Zacch Adedeji and top directors of secretly running private companies in flagrant violation of the Constitution, fueling fears of massive corruption and conflict of interest at the heart of the nation’s tax system.
The Coalition of Anti-Corruption Civil Society Organisations for Development (COCSOD) – uniting Integrity and Economic Probity For Transparency Initiative, Centre for Democracy and Human Rights, Association of Media Practitioners in Oil and Gas Producing Areas, and Arewa Youth Alliance for Progress and Development – stormed the National Assembly with documents they claim prove senior FIRS officials remain active shareholders and controllers in multiple businesses while drawing full-time public salaries.
“This is rot from the very top,” declared COCSOD spokesperson Comrade Odey Otunu amid chants and waving placards outside the legislative complex. “The same people set to oversee Nigeria’s new tax regime next year are neck-deep in private empires, betraying the public trust and mocking the law.”
The group says months of investigation uncovered ironclad corporate records showing Adedeji holds 500,000 shares in RTR Consulting Limited, incorporated in 2015, despite a murky resignation as director and claims the firm remains fully operational with recent transactions.
Other senior officers were named as controlling figures in companies spanning consulting, engineering, investments, and even microfinance, all while occupying critical roles in revenue collection.
Otunu invoked the Fifth Schedule of the 1999 Constitution, which bars full-time public officers from engaging in private business except farming, alongside the Code of Conduct Bureau Act and Public Service Rules. He cited Supreme Court and Appeal Court rulings that brand public office a sacred trust demanding zero tolerance for abuse.
“How can Nigerians have faith in a tax system policed by officials with divided loyalties?” he pressed. “This isn’t just unlawful – it’s morally indefensible and erodes confidence in the entire revenue architecture.”
Despite repeated written requests for comment, COCSOD says the accused officials have stayed silent. The coalition has now lodged formal petitions with the National Assembly and vowed to march on the EFCC, ICPC, and Code of Conduct Bureau until action is taken.
“We will keep the pressure on with peaceful protests, rallies, and relentless monitoring,” Otunu warned. “The Nigerian people deserve accountability.”
FIRS officials remained tight-lipped, with one senior source promising an official response “in due course.” As the agency gears up for sweeping tax reforms in 2026, the scandal casts a long shadow over its credibility and raises urgent questions about integrity at the apex of Nigeria’s fiscal machinery. Lawmakers have yet to signal whether a full probe is forthcoming.
