CSOs Shelve Protest, Back Adedeji’s Reforms

Civil society organisations, numbering 23, have backed the revenue drive of the executive chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), Dr Zacch Adedeji.

After an emergency meeting in Abuja, the CSOs held a press conference, where they said the reforms in revenue generation agency under Adedeji’s were a lifeline for the sinking Nigerian economy.

The CSOs’ leaders included Mallam Bello of the Centre for Peace, Transparency and Accountability and Mrs Ngozi Okafor of Women’s Advocacy Network.

They spoke on behalf of the other groups, stressing that the nation’s economy had become stable as businesses were picking up and stabilising with a lot of exports, especially in the non-oil sector, where most Nigerians are working hard to add value to their products before export.

They said, “We have deeply assessed the revenue drive by Adedeji since President Bola Tinubu appointed him to spearhead some of the reforms in revenue generation.

“We are impressed with his performance and the impact he has made in terms of revenue generation and we can see the reforms have had on the nation’s economy.”

“The impact of the reforms could be seen in government revenue, where the monthly allocations to the three tiers of government had increased substantially since the Tinubu administration came into office, as monthly allocations had risen from about N700bn in 2023 to approximately N4.5tn, representing an increase of about 530 per cent.

“This” increase had seriously strengthened the finances of state governments, whereby state governments’ dependence on federal interventions to meet recurrent obligations had significantly reduced.

“It is also evident to see in states different projects are embarked on, which is an indicator of increased allocation, therefore, has an impact beyond the federal government, as was the case.

“We have also seen the commitment of the NRS under Adedeji’s leadership had boost investors confidence in the Nigerian business environment, especially in the exchange rate, which the previous wide gap between the official and parallel market exchange rates discouraged foreign investment because investors could not accurately determine the value of their returns but today the reforms have helped create a more predictable business environment and enhanced increased for corporate profits, which the government has been able to unify the exchange rates, and it has raised the trust and dependability of investors as far capital flows are concerned.”

The Coalition also said the administration’s performance of the reforms has not left the youth without their benefits, as they are also recipients.

“When you look at the financial sector, the banks have been able to raise about N4.6 trillion following the Central Bank of Nigeria, with approximately 75 per cent of the funds coming from domestic investors.”

The student loan scheme is another fundamental intervention, alongside the Credit Corps, to provide access to finance and education for Nigerians, and most students are benefiting from the scheme, as they have access to funds to cover their educational expenses.

“It is also heartwarming to see over 1 million students in about 300 higher institutions to have received the student loans, which over N303 billion have been disbursed in the last three years of this administration, th” they said.

Meanwhile, the CSOs shelved their planned protest across the country calling for the sack of the NRS Chairman, Dr Zacch Adedeji, saying they never knew the efforts made by the Tinubu-led administration through the Adedeji-led NRS to rescue Nigeria from the deep pit of economic woes that would have engulfed the nation and set it on an unen. Therefore, they expressed their support; the band passed a vote of confidence in Adedeji’s leadership and promised to raise awareness of the impact of the economic reforms, despite not yet reaching households. Still, with time, the families will feel it.