Kaduna: Tax reforms have increased internal revenue — Sani

Kaduna Governor Uba Sani has disclosed that the national tax revenue has so far risen to N21.6 trillion since President Bola Tinubu introduced tax reforms in 2026.

The governor made this known at the 160th edition of the Joint Revenue Board meeting, which held in Kaduna on Wednesday, with the theme, ‘’One Year Of Tax Reform: Assessing Progress and Addressing Challenges.’’

According to him, the nation’s revenue was approximately ₦10.1 trillion in 2023, ₦21.6 trillion in 2024 and about ₦36.8 trillion in 2025.

‘’In the first half of 2026 alone, revenue reached approximately ₦21.6 trillion, representing a 49 percent increase over the corresponding period of the previous year,’’ he pointed out.

The Governor commended President Tinubu for taking what he described as ‘’the bold and politically demanding decision to fundamentally reform Nigeria’s tax architecture through landmark legislation, including the Act that transformed the former Joint Tax Board into the Joint Revenue Board.’’

‘’That decision reflected a profound understanding: that a modern economy cannot be sustained by an outdated, fragmented or overly complex revenue system.

‘’Nigeria requires a tax architecture that is coherent, predictable, efficient and capable of supporting national development without unnecessarily constraining enterprise and investment,’’ he argued.

The Governor paid tribute to the Chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service, Mr Zach Adedeji, for his exceptional leadership and statesmanship in advancing Nigeria’s tax reform agenda.

‘’His contribution has been distinguished not merely by technical competence, but by a clear appreciation of the larger purpose of tax reform: to strengthen revenue mobilisation while making the system simpler, fairer, more predictable and more responsive to taxpayers.

‘’Reforms of this magnitude inevitably require courage. They demand the patience to build consensus, the discipline to stay the course and the institutional imagination to turn legislation into effective administrative practice. Mr Adedeji has demonstrated these qualities with distinction,’’ he said.

Governor Uba Sani also commended the immediate past Executive Chairman of Kaduna Internal Revenue Service (KADIRS), Mr Jerry Adams, and his team, for increasing the state’s internally generated revenue from barely N4 billion to N10 billion monthly.

He argued that the revenue figures are more than fiscal statistics but they point to ‘’an emerging capacity to finance national development increasingly from domestic resources.’’

According to him, the tax reforms aim at ‘’simplifying a complex tax environment, reducing multiple and overlapping taxation, deploying technology and e-invoicing to minimise leakages.

He further noted that the new tax reforms seek to consolidate revenue administration ‘’and, perhaps most importantly, rebuilding the relationship between government and the taxpayer.’’

The governor also argued that sustainable taxation cannot rest on coercion alone but must be founded on fairness, transparency, predictability and trust.

‘’Citizens and businesses are more likely to comply when they understand their obligations, encounter a system that is straightforward to navigate, and have confidence that the resources they contribute are being responsibly applied to the public good.

‘’The objective, therefore, should not simply be to collect more revenue. It should be to build a tax system in which compliance becomes easier, enforcement becomes more intelligent and voluntary participation becomes the norm rather than the exception,’’ he said.

According to him, Kaduna State has embraced this philosophy and through KADIRS, ‘’we have continued to invest in technology-driven revenue collection, professionalise our revenue workforce and strengthen taxpayer education and engagement.

‘’Our objective is not simply to increase collections, but to build a revenue system that is broader, fairer, more efficient and more sustainable, the governor argued.

‘’We seek to expand the tax base rather than continually place a heavier burden on the same compliant taxpayers. We seek to make compliance easier and enforcement more intelligent, targeted and transparent.

‘’Above all, we seek to establish a relationship with taxpayers based not on fear, but on clarity, fairness and mutual responsibility. This is also why the institutional architecture created by the new reform matters so greatly,’’ he added.

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