In a statement released by his Technical Assistant on Print Media, Sikiru Akinola, Adedeji highlighted several fundamental challenges confronting tax administration in Nigeria, including inadequate infrastructure, limited skills, low trust, and widespread resistance. He said these issues would be addressed through the imminent upgrading of the country’s tax system to a digital environment.
“Nigeria has recently enacted a new set of tax laws, representing the most significant restructuring of our nation’s fiscal legislation in 50 years,” he said. “While public conversation often frames these changes as legal reforms, and that is true, it is also an incomplete picture.”
Adedeji explained that the new laws do more than adjust rates or redefine administrative powers; they fundamentally change how authority operates within the tax system. He said the reforms signal a shift from manual tax collection to a system driven by tax intelligence. He added that a careful reading of the laws reveals an underlying assumption that the tax system will rely on reliable taxpayer identification, integrated data across institutions, traceable transactions, automated processes, and scalable enforcement.
“In other words, these laws are built for a digital environment,” he said. “They cannot function properly in a manual, fragmented, paper-based system. The implication is clear: without technology, the laws remain aspirational. With technology, they become operational.”
Adedeji further stressed that the transition to a technology-driven tax system is central to the NRS’s mandate in implementing the new legal framework. He noted that the previous system depended heavily on human discretion in deciding who is registered, assessed, audited, or penalised. He argued that while discretion is not inherently negative, excessive discretion fosters inconsistency, which erodes trust and drives non-compliance.
As he addressed the audience, Adedeji said that when infrastructure improves, capacity grows, trust is protected, and resistance is managed, technology begins to do what policy alone cannot. He pointed out that one of the most significant benefits of a technology-driven tax administration is the ability to expand the tax base without increasing tax rates, an important consideration in a society where citizens already feel overburdened.
“By improving visibility and bringing previously unseen economic activity into view, technology levels the playing field,” he said. “When compliance broadens, the pressure on the existing base reduces, fairness improves, and legitimacy grows. This is how modern tax systems grow revenue sustainably.”
The lecture also drew remarks from other dignitaries. Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, encouraged the graduating students to become good ambassadors of the institution. Represented by Senator AbdulFatai Buhari of Oyo North, Abbas urged the graduates not to relent in their pursuit of knowledge.
Yakubu Datti, chairman of the institution’s governing council, praised Adedeji for leading the re-engineering of Nigeria’s tax architecture. The Rector of the Federal Polytechnic, Dr Taofeek Abdul-Hameed, also urged the graduates to emulate Adedeji, noting that he began his journey from a polytechnic.