The Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Dr. Zacch Adedeji, has proposed partnering with Nigerian tertiary institutions to transform them into innovation hubs that could address real-world challenges.
The chairman stated this while delivering the 2025 Distinguished Lecture at the University of Ilesa, Osun State, on the theme ‘Economic Resilience in an Era of Dwindling Revenue.’
NewsQuest reports that President Bola Tinubu’s government has been actively pursuing bold economic reforms aimed at stabilizing and strengthening Nigeria’s economy with key reforms including the removal of petrol subsidies, unification of the exchange rate, fiscal discipline, and monetary tightening to control inflation.
Speaking, Dr. Adedeji analyzed Nigeria’s current financial landscape and outlined practical steps taken to build a resilient economy under President Bola Tinubu administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
He also highlighted key reforms at FIRS, including automation, digitization, strategic tax base expansion and modernization, collaboration with states for tax harmonization, and institutional restructuring to enhance public trust.
The FIRS boss emphasized the need to diversify Nigeria’s economy away from heavy dependence on crude oil toward multiple growth sectors such as agro-processing, the digital economy, creative industries, and solid minerals.
While stressing that economic resilience is a collective responsibility, Dr. Adedeji called on academics and stakeholders to contribute by producing research that addresses contemporary challenges.
The chairman therefore affirmed FIRS’s willingness to forge partnerships that support academic efforts and help close the town–gown divide.
