Nigeria Meets Oil and Gas Tax Target Amid Improved Niger Delta Security
By Patience Ikpeme
The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has announced that it has met its 2025 tax revenue target for the oil and gas sector, an achievement attributed to the sustained peace in the Niger Delta region.
Dr. Zacch Adedeji, the FIRS chairman, made this disclosure during a visit by the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, and his team to the FIRS headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday.
Dr. Adedeji linked the rise in tax revenue directly to the improved security environment, which has led to increased oil production and higher profits for oil companies. “For the first time in a long while, we met our oil and gas target which is actually as a result of the peace that has been maintained where oil and gas facilities are located. And this is because production is happening and companies are making more profit from it,” he said.
The FIRS chairman also commended the Armed Forces for their role in securing the country, stating that the development aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s vision of “taxing prosperity and not poverty,” which he noted can only be achieved in a peaceful environment.
He pledged FIRS’s support for the upcoming African summit for Chiefs of Defence Staff to be hosted in Abuja, an event aimed at strengthening continental security collaboration.
General Christopher Musa, the Chief of Defence Staff, praised the FIRS for its efforts in generating the necessary funds to meet the country’s needs, including the operations of the Armed Forces. He stated that since Dr. Adedeji took office, “we have seen changes, very remarkable changes.”
General Musa acknowledged the vital role of funding for the military, saying, “For us in the Armed Forces, we are nothing without funds. To even buy the good big guns we are carrying will be difficult without the funding. So, I want to say thank you.”
He also stated that the revenue increase has been “almost ten fold” and that the FIRS’s new initiatives have had a positive impact, encouraging the Armed Forces in their mission to ensure peace and security.
During the visit, General Musa disclosed that Nigeria will host the inaugural African Chiefs of Defence Staff Conference in Abuja from August 25 to 27, 2025. He described the summit as a way to “showcase Nigeria to Africa and to the world.”
The CDS explained that the conference is an effort to find “African solutions to African problems,” as he believes that external organizations often exacerbate the very issues they claim to be helping to solve.
“We feel it is important that we’re able to call all chiefs of defense staff in Africa. Let us come as brothers and sisters and discuss African problems so that we can provide an African solution to them,” he said.
