The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has disclosed that only 19% of Nigerians pay tax, as it announced plans to introduce tax education into the country’s school curriculum.
FIRS Executive Chairman, Zacch Adedeji, revealed this on Tuesday during the public presentation of the book “Taxation: Essential Knowledge for Nigerian Children”, held at Merit House, Maitama, Abuja, in commemoration of the 2025 Children’s Day celebration.
Adedeji, represented by his Special Adviser on Research and Statistics, Associate Professor Aisha Mahmoud Hamman, said research conducted by the agency showed that only between 10% and 12% of Nigerian citizens and just 9% of corporate entities are tax-compliant.
While lamenting the low tax compliance rate in Nigeria, he compared it unfavourably with other African nations such as South Africa and Egypt, which have significantly higher rates of compliance.
“We have given our utmost support for this book publication because we have run a couple of studies and have found out that tax compliance is positively correlated with tax education,” he said.
“We have run a lot of investigations and studies and we found that a few people pay taxes in Nigeria. 10 to 12% of citizens pay taxes in Nigeria and only 9% of corporate bodies, unfortunately, pay taxes in Nigeria. This is abysmally low, especially compared to other countries in the world, even in Africa like South Africa and Egypt.
“So when children are educated, they grow up to become responsible citizens. They pay their taxes and do what is right. When children learn about their civic duties early, they grow into responsible citizens. It’s not just accountants who need this knowledge — everyone does.
“We need to create awareness among our younger ones because it is easier for younger children to become tax compliant when they grow up than reform tax-dodging adults. When you raise children that are tax-compliant, of course you expect them to hold those in government accountable.
“When they are taught and there are subjects on taxation at primary and secondary school levels, by the time they reach the universities, they have already known about that civic duty. So it would not be students of accounting who will know a lot about taxation.”
Co-author of the book and Technical Adviser on Broadcast Media to the FIRS Chairman, Arabinrin Aderonke Bello, described the publication as a tool to introduce Nigerian children to the fundamentals of taxation, while also promoting early financial literacy and civic awareness.
“Children are our tomorrow. There’s a wide communication gap when it comes to taxes. We want to bridge that by teaching them how taxation funds their schools, roads, and healthcare.
“Like they always say, nobody want to pay tax which is why we are catching them young. We want them to know that the social amenities that they see and the infrastructure we have across the nation today are being funded by tax.
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“The book addresses civic responsibility and how to a serious and responsible adults. Tax does not go to personal account it goes to government account in return for infrastructure and social amenities to give the citizens good life.
“We have been able to print over 50,000 copies supported by the FIRS and the publishing company to distribute it free of charge in the six geopolitical zones across the country. It is not for sale and it will be widely distributed to libraries, schools and even universities. But our priorities are primary and secondary schools.”
In her remarks, former Executive Chairman of FIRS, Mrs Ifueko Omoigui-Okauru, stressed the importance of transparency and accountability in tax administration.
“Tax is used for the development of our country. And tax collected must be used for the purpose it is meant for,” she said.
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