Politics – Tech | Business | Economy

FIRS Denies Atiku’s Allegation That XpressPayments Was Given Tax Collection Monopoly

Joan Aimuengheuwa — Mon, 24 Nov 2025 09:16:13 +0000

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has rejected allegations by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar that a private company has been handed control of Nigeria’s national revenue-collection system.

The agency said the accusation is baseless and risks stirring political tension over an issue it considers routine and technical.

Aderonke Atoyebi, technical assistant on Broadcast Media to the FIRS Chairman, issued the agency’s response, saying the former Vice President’s comments distort how government tax channels actually work.

She insisted there is no exclusive gateway and no company has been placed above others in the revenue-collection chain.

“The comments by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar are incorrect, misleading, and capable of unnecessarily politicising a purely administrative and technical process,” she said.

The tax authority explained that Nigeria currently operates a broad network of Payment Solution Service Providers. Quickteller, Remita, Etranzact, Flutterwave and XpressPay all run simultaneously, and the system, according to the FIRS, is designed to prevent any single operator from dominating.

The agency repeated the same point in stronger terms: “For clarity, the FIRS does not operate any exclusive or single-gateway revenue-collection arrangement, and no private entity has been granted a monopoly over government revenues.”

Why XpressPayments Entered the Picture

Xpress Payment Solutions Limited was recently listed as a collecting agent under the Treasury Single Account framework, allowing taxpayers to choose its platform, just as they would choose any other, when remitting statutory taxes.

The FIRS stressed that this does not elevate the company above others, nor does it give it access to government funds.

Atiku Abubakar had argued that this resembles what he called a “Lagos-style revenue cartel”, warning that placing revenue channels in the hands of any politically aligned private operator could undermine public trust.

He said the decision was made quietly and described the arrangement as state capture masked as innovation.

FIRS Counters Monopoly Claims

The agency dismissed those issues, insisting that PSSPs neither collect revenue nor keep a share of funds. All payments, it said, land directly in the Federation Account without being touched or held by any intermediary.

It reinforced this point again: “All payments made through the platforms go directly into the Federation Account without diversion, intermediaries, or private control.”

The FIRS also noted that recent reforms deliberately opened the space for more providers, not fewer. The intention, it said, is to expand access, increase oversight, and push financial-technology firms to innovate through competition rather than state preference.

Transparency and Reform at the Centre

Responding to Atiku’s claim of the wider process, Atoyebi said the onboarding of service providers is conducted through a transparent and verifiable procedure. She added that national tax reforms must not be reduced to political talking points.

“The reform has come to stay and should not be subjected to mischaracterisation for political gain.”

The agency then urged politicians to avoid framing operational decisions as partisan manoeuvres: “We therefore urge Mr Atiku Abubakar and other political actors to refrain from mischaracterising routine administrative processes for political gain. Nigeria’s tax system is too important to be subjected to misinformation or unnecessary alarm.”

A Continuing Disagreement

Atiku, who has repeatedly criticised the administration’s revenue and economic policies, maintains that placing XpressPayments in a sensitive role weakens institutional safeguards. The FIRS insists the system remains professional, transparent, and insulated from private influence.

“4 People Tweeting in a Room” are Disrupting Nigeria’s Political Space

Justice Godfrey Okamgba — Fri, 03 Mar 2023 14:43:40 +0000

The unfolding events are beginning to show that Nigeria’s politics may be tilting toward digital. Online support will equate to offline support. Online political campaigns will equate to offline campaigns.

Social media are powerful tools depending on how effective you can make them work for you. Be it business, politics, religion, etc., they work. From a political standpoint, the recent presidential election in Nigeria has proven that social media remain sacrosanct.

In 2021, there were approximately 43 million social network users in Nigeria, and this figure is projected to grow to 103 million users in 2026, according to Statista.

During the electioneering process, Nigerian youths campaigned rigorously for their preferred candidates. These relentless youths, popularly known as “Obidients” unanimously rendered their support to billionaire businessman Peter Obi in a bid to disrupt the political space.

The former Governor of Anambra State who became the flag bearer of the Labour Party and arguably the most preferred candidate according to several reports enjoyed an avalanche of good wills from the teeming Nigerian youths who are ready to ‘take a bullet’ for him from the opposition.

Obidients are all over the Internet space to either brand Mr. Obi as the best or vehemently refute any demeaning posts or remarks from the opposition – the All Progressives Congress (APC) and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) against him.

On social media, these “structureless youths” organized conferences and meetings to discuss how to dismantle an already existing institutionalized political process that has not yielded any positive.

Strategy sessions were held. Mr. Obi’s supporters raised funds, designed banners, and got influencers and volunteers who were able to push the goal offline. Emphatically, these activities gradually transcended offline. In a few months, the opposition started feeling the heat from all angles.

On several occasions, the opposition parties who are conspicuously glued to the old style of politics disregarded how powerful Obidients can be. They made comments like “you can not win an election on social media,” “they are just online people,” and Obidients have no structure,” etc. Social media just proved all those theories wrong.

In an interview on September 2022, the then National Chairman of APC, Adams Oshiomhole (now Senator-elect), said Obidients were just “4 persons tweeting in a room. This phrase has been used by Obidients to mock opposition whenever they pull out large crowds offline for Mr. Obi’s campaign.

Oshiomhole said:

“These Obidients of disobedience time will tell. We now live in a world where we can have 4 young men and women in one room, whether motivated or not motivated. They can churn out 1 million stories using different names. You need to find out that this whole thing is being done in one room. Time will tell.”

https://twitter.com/Ebenplusworld/status/1629460660143759362

Till date, the Obidients have been waxing stronger, leveraging social media to get things done. Mr. Obi’s candidacy has shown that politics has gone digital. Just as the local grassroots are important, digital grassroots are also vital.

From the last presidential election, it’s clear that social media can influence the political space of any society, challenging the narrative that one needs to have structure. If a candidate has strong support online, such a person is likely to have support offline.

At the polls on February 25, 2023, the Obidients who kickstarted the journey online came out en masse to cast their votes. The outcome has been impressive. Some of the old politicians who underestimated the power of social media lost the elections. Some of these positions were lost to Obidients‘ Labour Party.

Specifically, the presidential election was allegedly marred with irregularities that were exposed by the Obidients. At several polling units where Obidients supposedly won, they made videos and shared them on social media. They also shared videos of where manipulations and thuggery occurred. These videos went viral on the Internet. The world was able to see these exhibits.

Expectedly, the election was described as unfair, controversial, and largely flawed by both local and international media. While several petitions at the law court have been flying here and there. All of these were made possible by the Obidients who understood the power of social media. The battle has just begun, and it will be interesting to see how it plays out, eventually.

More importantly, it is high time public officeholders became more accountable and regain the trust of the Nigerian youth who has clearly made up his/her mind to bring your political careers to a halt.

The economy must start working; the business environment must be friendly enough, public funds must be used appropriately for the public good, amongst other things that make up good governance.

Otherwise, “these four men Tweeting in a room’, could rock your political boats.

Why Sensitive Election Materials Won’t be Under CBN Custody

Yinka Okeowo — Sun, 05 Jun 2022 16:32:14 +0000

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has explained why sensitive election materials will no longer be “routed” through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The apex bank led by Godwin Emefiele was under scrutiny for involving itself in partisan politics, which indicates a clear violation of public office.

Governor Emefiele had declared interest to run for the 2023 presidential election under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) while in office.

He later withdrew his intentions after President Buhari told all aspirants who were public officers to resign and rechannel their energy politics.

Weekend, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INE), announced during an election dialog, ‘The Electorate’, organized by Enough is Enough, stated that the electoral body never had an issue with the CBN since the partnership started, but that due to “current circumstances”, an alternative would be found.

Yakubu however, said the new measures as regards the election materials would be adopted starting with the June 18 governorship election in Ekiti State.

He said, “I want to say that since INEC started this collaboration with the CBN, we have never experienced a single issue with the movement of materials.

The agency has been such a good partner to the commission. “But we appreciate the current circumstances, and it is for that reason, pending the time we find an alternative, that the materials for the Ekiti election will not be routed through the CBN.

“We will move the material to the airport in Akure and move the material to our office in Ado-Ekiti and do the distribution from there. We are not going to use the CBN.

When it comes to the general election, we have to look for an alternative way of doing it.”