Coalition Launches Campaign To Remove FIRS Boss Zack Adedeji Over Alleged Constitutional Violations

A coalition of civil society groups, led by House of Representatives member Ikenga Ugochinyere, has begun gathering signatures for a vote of no confidence against the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Zack Adedeji, over alleged breaches of constitutional and economic regulations.

Ugochinyere, a co-convener of the coalition, said the petition for Adedeji’s removal will be released to the public on December 15, including details of alleged grave violations committed under his watch.

Ugochinyere, representing Ideato North/South Federal Constituency, told journalists in Abuja on Friday that the coalition wants the forensic audit to focus on project accounts of the FIRS and the Renewable & Hydropower Infrastructure Development Fund (RHIDF).

He said the coalition which includes the Arewa Conservative Youth Movement, Ohaneze Youth Movement, Oduduwa Youth Movement, and the African Centre for Justice and Human Rights, has documented serious violations that require immediate investigation.

They accused Adedeji of misleading President Bola Tinubu into establishing entities without legal backing and directing public resources toward projects that lack approval of the National Assembly.

Their grievances include alleged irregular tax waiver approvals, revenue losses from inadequate collection procedures, and questionable expenditure through the Infrastructure Fund.

The group said this had prompted “the need for forensic audit of the activities of the FIRS chairman, not only as it pertains to the Revenue Generation Agency, but other activities he has indulged in, like misleading the president into setting up an outfit that is not recognized by law, and using public funds for projects that were not appropriated for.

“And also, which is very important, is the indiscriminate issuance of tax waivers or whatever, and the loss of revenue as a result of improper collection of revenues and taxes, and so on and so forth. And there are other activities which show actions outside his jurisdiction as a tax collector. The key thing is that there is a lot that has happened. Projects that have been funded by the Infrastructure Fund are projects that were inflated and not appropriated, vowing to publish the payments made so far to show Nigerians that heinous economic crimes have been committed.

“The activities were not backed by law or Parliament, which is a criminal offence and which has dire consequences. Hence the need for him to step down to allow forensics audit and then come December 15th the group will be converging in Abuja in a world press conference to will be televised live to announce measures to ensure there are serious reforms and forensics audit that will help to unravel the monumental corruption and illegality that has happened under Zack’s watch.”

Late last month, the FIRS reportedly designated Xpress Payment Solutions Limited as its revenue collection agent under the Treasury Single Account system.

It said taxpayers can now choose Xpress Payments when settling obligations through the TaxPro Max platform, joining Remita which was a primary payment channel since the TSA’s launch in 2012.