Zacch Adedeji: Nigeria’s Complex Economic Realities Demand Policy Reforms, Technological Innovations

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August 10, 2025
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James Emejo in Abuja

The Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Dr. Zacch Adedeji, has stressed that Nigeria’s complex economic realities demand that policy reforms and technological innovations be anchored on credible data and rigorous analysis.

Adedeji said this when he hosted FIRS’s inaugural Research Day, a milestone event aimed at embedding research-driven decision-making into Nigeria’s tax administration.
The event brought together internal stakeholders, scholars, policymakers, and tax professionals to unveil a set of knowledge products designed to boost the country’s tax system and economic governance.
Speaking at the event, Adedeji described Research Day as “a bold statement that research matters in tax administration,” adding that “without research, we risk working in the dark; with it, we shine a light on the path ahead.

“Every question we ask, every data point we analyze, and every policy we shape brings Nigeria closer to prosperity,” he said.
The FIRS boss also urged all departments to integrate research findings into their planning and execution, while calling for sustained collaboration with the academic and development community “to strengthen the bridge between theory and practice.”

At the heart of the occasion were the unveilings of three key initiatives: FIRS Research Policy Document, which sets high ethical, methodological, and transparency standards for research within the Service.
Others include: Tax Revenue Statistical Bulletin, an authoritative publication documenting tax data trends from 1970 to 2022, intended as a critical resource for economic analysis and policy-making; and Volume 4 of the FIRS Journal of Tax Studies (FJTS), a peer-reviewed platform featuring contributions from FIRS staff, academics, and industry experts. To expand accessibility, the FJTS digital platform (www.fjts.online) was also launched in collaboration with the Technology Department.

Director of the Research and Statistics Department, Halima M. Shehu, described the day as “a new beginning, not just a commemoration.”

She said the Research Policy was designed to safeguard intellectual property, maintain methodological integrity, and foster a culture of inquiry across the Service. “Research and reliable data are not optional—they are essential,” she noted, urging more interdepartmental cooperation.

In a statement issued at the weekend, Special Adviser on Communications and Advocacy to the Executive Chairman, Collins Omokaro, said: “As the FIRS charts a bold path forward, the 2025 Research Day stands as a defining moment—anchored in data, powered by inquiry, and committed to building a smarter, more accountable, and more innovative tax administration system for Nigeria.”

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September 9, 2025
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As Hurricane Odey Sweeps Across the North, Leaving Trails of Sweetness

Linus Obogo

From Obanliku, crisscrossing Obudu, Bekwarra, Yala with Ogoja as the melting pot, the Northern Senatorial District of Cross River was aglow with renewed fervor as the Deputy Governor, Hon. Peter Odey, undertook a five-local government areas tour that was more than an official outing. It was a pilgrimage of culture, unity and sweetness. From Ogoja to Obanliku, the echoes of drumming feet, the colours of dancing fabrics, and the warmth of communal embrace testify to a people reawakened by leadership with a listening heart.

Like a storm that does not destroy but fertilizes, Odey’s tour has swept across the northern landscape with a hurricane’s energy and a farmer’s patience. Villages and towns have become theatres of joy, where communities pour out their dances, tell their stories, and offer their loyalty in celebration of a government that remembers its people. It is the ‘Season of Sweetness’ not as rhetoric but as lived reality, alive in the faces of market women, farmers, youths and elders who thronged out to welcome him.

At every stop, the deputy governor became less of an emissary of government and more of a bridge between the people and their destiny. His words, heavy with reassurance, painted a vision of inclusion where no voice is too faint and no culture too small to matter. “This administration belongs to you, and it is for you,” Odey declared with conviction, his voice rising above the hum of anticipation. “We are committed to ensuring that every community feels the sweetness of governance.”

The tour has become a rolling carnival of identity, a celebration where masquerades and maiden dancers weave the threads of heritage into the garment of unity. The colours of the north—its foods, festivals and rhythms—have met the melody of government presence, creating a symphony where culture and governance dance in harmony. For the deputy governor, culture is not a relic of the past but the soul of a people, and by celebrating it, he affirms their pride of place in the state’s collective journey.

Beyond the dancing and drumming, Odey’s visit also carried the weight of purposeful engagement. In town halls and village squares, he listened attentively as farmers spoke of roads, as women raised concerns of health facilities, and as youths dreamt aloud of skills and opportunities. Each voice was not dismissed as noise but gathered into the fabric of government’s promise—a testament to the administration’s ‘People First’ philosophy.

Observers note that the deputy governor’s northern odyssey is both symbolic and strategic. Symbolic, because it reconnects government to the grassroots heartbeat; strategic, because it fosters the unity without which development remains an empty shell. The north, often seen as the cultural citadel of Cross River, has now been given the sweet assurance that it is also at the centre of governance and progress.

Indeed, Peter Odey’s tour has turned into a tapestry of belonging. Where once there may have been distance, now there is closeness. Where once there may have been scepticism, now there is faith. The deputy governor has not merely visited communities; he has inhabited their hopes, embraced their concerns, and amplified their dreams into the corridors of power.

As the caravan of sweetness rolled on, it left in its wake not only mud splashing from village paths but also the fragrance of promise rising from grateful hearts. In this unfolding season, the north has rediscovered itself—not as a forgotten corner, but as a vibrant pulse in the Cross River story. And at the centre of this rediscovery stands Hon. Peter Odey, the hurricane that sweeps with grace, unites with purpose, and leaves behind the sweetness of hope.

* Obogo is the Chief Press Secretary and Special Adviser to the Cross River State Governor on Media and Publicity

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Linus Obogo From Obanliku, crisscrossing Obudu, Bekwarra, Yala with Ogoja as the melting pot, the Northern Senatorial District of Cross River was aglow with renewed fervor as the Deputy Governor,
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Presidency: 70% Of Insecurity In N ‘Central States Solvable Through Non-kinetic Means

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

The Presidency on Tuesday declared that 70 per cent of security challenges facing the North-central geo-political zone can be solved through dialogue and not necessarily force.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement (North-central), Dr Abiodun Essiet, who made this disclosure, said nearly 70 per cent of security challenges in the North-central can be tackled via non-kinetic means anchored on the communities.

Speaking at the capacity building training for stakeholders across the North-central states held at the State House, Abuja, the presidential aide posted: “From our analysis, nearly 70 per cent of the security challenges in the North-central can be addressed through dialogue, reconciliation, intelligence sharing and community engagement, rather than through force alone.”

Reminiscing on the June 5, 2025 launch of the Presidential Community Engagement Peace Initiative (PCEPI) in Jos, Plateau State, Essiet stated: “That historic event was a significant step in our collective journey towards fostering unity, strengthening social cohesion and empowering communities to take ownership of their peace processes.”

She announced that in line with Nigeria’s implementation of the United Nations Universal Periodic Review (UPR) recommendations, her office is partnering the International Communities Organisation (ICO) on a project titled ‘Promoting Community Peace and Strengthening Social Cohesion in North Central Nigeria’.

At the heart of the effort, Essiet said, is a grassroots network that leaves no local government area behind.

According to her, “At the heart of this initiative is the establishment of a peace structure that will cut across all the 110 local governments in the North-central region.

“This structure will not just exist in name; it will be an active platform focusing on gathering and sharing intelligence, facilitating continuous dialogue, and helping us identify underlying issues and root causes of conflict. Ultimately, this peace structure will serve as the backbone of sustainable peacebuilding in our region.”

She stressed that tackling local disputes early is decisive, adding that: “Once we succeed in resolving internal communal conflicts and addressing the root causes of tension, we will already be halfway to overcoming insecurity in the North-central,” while armed criminality remains for security agencies.

The training featured sessions on Peacebuilding & Conflict Resolution, Conflict Dynamics & Community Engagement, and Intelligence Gathering for Peace, alongside state breakout SWOT sessions to map risks, stakeholders and interventions.

“This training is not just about acquiring knowledge; it is about forging partnerships, building trust, and developing strategies that will directly impact our communities. I urge every participant to be open, interactive and collaborative,” Essiet told participants.

Stakeholders highlighted forests and borders as pressure points.

On his part, the Commandant-General of the Nigerian Forest Security Service (NFSS), Ambassador Joshua Osatimehin Wole, said Nigeria has 1,129 forest reserves, with 174 in the North-central.

He called for tighter inter-agency cooperation and effective forest control, identifying Niger, Kwara and Benue States as epicentres requiring enhanced surveillance.

“For sustainable peace in our communities, all our forested regions must be well coordinated and preserved. We need to protect the forests,” the NFSS DG said.

“We must create additional security agencies to conduct continuous security surveillance. Three states border international frontiers—Niger, Kwara and Benue—and they are the epicentres of insecurity.There should be inter-agency cooperation and effective control of our forests.

“What Nigeria is currently going through goes beyond farmers–herders clashes. We must also consider the post-Gaddafi era,” Wole said, noting that mercenaries scattered across the Sahel after Colonel Muammar Gaddafi of Libya’s fall.

Also speaking, the Director of the MacArthur Foundation, Kole Shettima, underlined the centrality of stability to development, stating that: “Unless there is peace, you cannot do what you want to do, peace is essential and paramount.”

He urged the National Assembly to strengthen traditional institutions, saying:

“We have to look historically at how our elders solved conflicts and learn from it.”

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Deji Elumoye in Abuja The Presidency on Tuesday declared that 70 per cent of security challenges facing the North-central geo-political zone can be solved through dialogue and not necessarily force.
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