Economy

FIRS Tasks Revenue Generating Agencies on Electronic Tax System

Published

5 years ago

20/04/2021

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has advised revenue-generating agencies at all levels to embrace automated processes and electronic solutions for effective tax administration.

The Executive Chairman of the service, Mr Muhammad Nami, gave the advice in Abuja at the first Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) Technology and Tax Event for heads of State Inland Revenue Services and authorities.

The event, organised by NGF in partnership with the World Bank and the International Centre for Tax and Development (ICTD), was aimed at supporting a learning ecosystem for tax administration in Nigeria.

Mr Nami, represented by an Executive Director in the FIRS, Mr M. L. Abubakar, said there was the need to look inwards on how to improve the revenue of the states to augment the shortfall of allocations from the federation account.

He said that over time, taxation all over the world had always been the most reliable and sustainable source of government revenue if well harnessed and effectively administered.

“For us as a mono-product economy, the reliance on oil revenue in the previous years has exposed our dear country to huge revenue challenges and resulted in poor budget implementation across the three tiers.

“Therefore, proffering solution to these nagging revenue challenges requires a deliberate strategic action plan hence, the need and justification for today’s event.

“Taxation, in most advanced jurisdictions, has gone beyond the bricks-and-mortar model but relies more on data and intelligence which are driven by technology.

“The adoption of technology in revenue administration processes is crucial and a major enabler for enhanced and sustainable revenue generation in a globalised and knowledge-driven world.

“Therefore, revenue authorities at all levels must adopt automated processes and embrace e-solutions both in their internal operations and in dealing with the taxpayers within their respective jurisdictions,” Mr Nami said.

According to him, FIRS, as the country’s leading tax institution, has taken some steps at automating its processes from e-registration, e-filing, e-payment, e-receipt, e-collection and e-TCC, to ensure that it improves on tax collections.

The executive chairman said that there was no better time for the event than now when there was a very pertinent need to shore up revenue in order to meet the budgetary gaps facing the federal and state governments.

He stressed the need to consider e-solutions that would enhance effective taxation of the informal sector which remained a huge source of untapped revenue, the harmonisation of taxpayer database and exchange of information with other stakeholders.

The NGF Director-General, Mr Asishana Okauru, in his remarks said that the lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic pointed to one direction: that all revenue administrations needed to move to a digital future.

Mr Okauru said that digitisation did not only bring about efficiency, but it provided opportunities for more people to be involved.

He identified a weak environment for tax policy and low technological integration in tax administration as critical factors undermining efforts to mobilise domestic revenues in Nigeria.

“Specifically for tax authorities, one big lesson that we have learnt is the criticality of internet-based business support systems and payment platforms for the automation of all back-end operational processes and payments across all revenue streams.

“From our research last year, we already know that most contact-intensive taxes are at risk, given the lessons we learnt during the period of the lockdown where taxes collected from contact-intensive taxes fell by an average of 40 per cent across all states in Nigeria.

“Coupled with a weak environment for tax policy and tax legitimacy, low technological integration in tax administration has undermined efforts to mobilise domestic revenues in the country.

“This has undermined the capacity of tax authorities to collect taxes efficiently and the ability of taxpayers to meet their tax responsibilities conveniently.’’

Mr Okauru said that historically, many governments had taken the path of least resistance, maintaining tax systems that allowed them to maximise whatever limited options were available rather than expanding into digital and more efficient tax systems.

“Amidst this transformation, we also recognise risks of data ownership, data protection and cybersecurity. This, each government must envisage.

“It would require a strong in-house IT team and an experienced legal department that will help protect the interest of all parties, including taxpayers.’’

The NGF director-general noted that the goal of the event was to help facilitate the scale-up of modern, taxpayer-friendly, and technology-driven revenue administrations in all states of the federation capable of providing world-class services.

He added that the event was also to facilitate technology-driven revenue administrations in states characterised by efficient, paperless operations, and equipped with ICT-enabled risk-based enforcement capable of optimising their revenue mobilisation strategies.

Mr Okauru also pledged that the NGF would continue to do its best to bring such collaborations together to provide opportunities for states to benefit from a global perspective and to ensure that no state was left behind.

Economy

Four Securities Erase N51.17bn from NASD Exchange

Published

21 hours ago

27/06/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Four securities weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 1.95 per cent on Friday, erasing N41.17 billion from the bourse, which had its market capitalisation at N2.567 trillion compared with the previous session’s N2.618 trillion.

In the same vein, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) decreased at the close of business by 85.28 points to 4,277.07 points from 4,362.32 points.

The price decliners were led by 11 Plc, which gave up N20.50 to sell at N200.50 per share compared with the preceding day’s N221.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc dropped N16.94 to close at N155.20 per unit versus Thursday’s closing price of N172.14 per unit, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went down by N2.11 to N84.68 per share from N86.79 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc lost 11 Kobo to end at N16.74 per unit, in contrast to the N16.85 per unit it closed a day earlier.

During the trading day, the value of transactions jumped by 172.1 per cent to N29.9 million from the preceding session’s N10.9 million, and the volume of trades soared by 136.5 per cent to 955,096 units from the previous 403,901 units, while the number of deals went down by 11.4 per cent to 31 deals from 35 deals.

Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 68.6 million units sold for N4.7 billion.

GNI Plc also ended the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units exchanged for N8.4 billion, trailed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.

Economy

Cautious Trading, Profit-taking Weaken Nigeria’s Stock Exchange by 0.66%

Published

21 hours ago

27/06/2026

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

The last trading session of this week on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended on a negative note, with a 0.66 per cent loss on Friday.

This was influenced by sustained selling pressure and cautious trading, which forced investors into profit-taking.

Data obtained by Business Post showed that the energy sector fell by 4.66 per cent, the insurance counter dipped by 2.23 per cent, the consumer goods index depreciated by 0.96 per cent, and the banking segment shed 0.28 per cent, while the industrial goods space remained unchanged.

At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) of Nigeria’s stock exchange went down by 1,531.81 points to 232,049.02 points from 233,580.83 points, and the market capitalisation dropped N983 billion to settle at N148.905 trillion compared with Thursday’s N149.888 trillion.

Aradel was the worst-performing equity after it lost 10.00 per cent to close at N1,417.50. International Energy Insurance slipped by 9.95 per cent to N5.79, Trans-Nationwide Express depreciated by 9.89 per cent to N3.28, eTranzact crashed by 9.79 per cent to N14.75, and UPDC slumped by 9.72 per cent to N28.12.

The best-performing equity for the day was Universal Insurance, which gained 6.32 per cent to close at N1.01, McNichols grew by 5.52 per cent to N8.60, Linkage Assurance expanded by 4.67 per cent to N1.57, NGX Group appreciated by 4.35 per cent to N120.00, and Transcorp increased by 3.62 per cent to N41.50.

As look at the activity level indicated that investors traded 388.7 million stocks worth N18.4 billion in 44,631 deals compared with the 393.7 million stocks valued at N19.2 billion executed in 45,813 deals a day earlier, representing a decline in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 1.27 per cent, 4.17 per cent, and 2.58 per cent, respectively.

Economy

Official FX Market Sees Naira Dip to N1,380.93/$1

Published

21 hours ago

27/06/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira recorded a loss of 82 Kobo or 0.06 per cent against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, June 26, exchanging at N1,380.93/$1, in contrast to the previous day’s rate of N1,380.11/$1.

Equally, the domestic currency further weakened against the Pound Sterling in the official FX market yesterday by N6.06 to settle at N1,824.90/£1 versus the preceding session’s N1,818.84/£1, and lost N10.74 on the Euro to sell at N1,577 .58/€1 versus N1,566.84/€1.

At the GTBank forex counter, the Naira depreciated against the greenback during the session by N4 to close at N1,387/$1, in contrast to Thursday’s value of N1,383/$1, and at the parallel market, it was unchanged at N1,395/$1.

Interbank FX activity among financial institutions has fluctuated amid a sharp slowdown in forex market interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), as it allows demand and supply to move the market.

Also, a stronger greenback has generally put significant pressure on emerging-market currencies.

Nigeria has accessed the first tranche of a proposed $5 billion derivatives financing arrangement with First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC, the largest lender in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The $5 billion facility, approved by the National Assembly earlier this year, is part of the federal government’s plan to diversify external financing sources and reduce borrowing costs. Structured as a Total Return Swap with First Abu Dhabi Bank, proceeds are earmarked for refinancing debt and supporting infrastructure financing.

If the proceeds are brought into the country through the official FX market, the transaction will increase the currency reserves or Dollar liquidity.

At the cryptocurrency market, Solana (SOL) grew by 2.2 per cent to $71.92, Cardano (ADA) gained 1.1 per cent to trade at $0.1474, Ripple (XRP) also appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $1.05, Dogecoin (DOGE) expanded by 0.9 per cent to $0.0755, and Ethereum (ETH) improved by 0.4 per cent to $1,578.84.

On the flip side, TRON (TRX) slid 0.6 per cent to $0.3203, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 0.3 per cent to $564.33, and Bitcoin fell by 0.2 per cent to $60,219.37, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.