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.

• GSMA and MTN signed a We Care Letter of Intent
• 5G in Africa – adoption rate is around 1% of total connections
• Mobile taxes currently make up 21% of the cost of a basic internet-enabled handset on average
• GSMA publishes Tech Neutrality Report

With GSMA MWC Kigali 2023 in full swing, here is a roundup of the news to date from the African continent’s largest and most influential connectivity event, which continues to welcome delegates for three days of insightful keynotes, roundtables, and announcements.

Day Two of the conference commenced with a media roundtable titled “Breaking Barriers: Closing the Usage Gap,” building on the recent launch of the 2023 State of Mobile Internet Connectivity Report and insights shared at the Handset Affordability Summit from Day One.

Led by GSMA experts Angela Wamola, Head of Sub-Saharan Africa and Max Cuvellier, Head of Mobile for Development at the GSMA – both were joined by Saint Doe, Chief Consumer and Digital Officer at MTN Rwanda.

The roundtable delved into the key barriers to mobile internet penetration and offered unique insights on strategies to overcome these barriers and facilitate greater connectivity for people.

The roundtable was bookended by the GSMA and MTN signing a We Care Letter of Intent to implement programmes across the Sub-Saharan Africa ecosystem to improve the state of mobile connectivity in the region.

The GMSA is publishing five reports during MWC Kigali 2023, each filled with research, insights and case studies delving into pertinent issues affecting connectivity levels and mobile internet usage across the continent.

The reports seek to recommend measures for industry-wide changes that must be made to achieve a truly digital Africa.

In addition to the annual Mobile Economy in Sub-Saharan Africa 2023 Report, which you can read about in this press release, other reports that will launch during the event include:

5G in Africa 2023

The 5G in Africa report was launched on Day 2 during the 5G Summit. The report shows that 5G is currently at a nascent stage in Africa, with the adoption rate being around 1% of total connections.

This is expected to grow to 8% by 2026. However, for 5G development to continue to grow, 5G spectrum assignment in the region must be managed correctly.

The report shares how Africa can continue to advance in its 5G journey, and why advancing 5G is important to the region’s continued digital transformation goals.

Mobile Tax Policy and Digital Development

The Mobile Tax Policy and Digital Development report was published on Day 2, revealing the role mobile sector taxation is playing in the usage and coverage gaps across Africa.

It shows that taxes on consumers and operators are directly affecting the affordability of mobile devices and services.

Taxes currently make up 21% of the cost of a basic internet-enabled handset on average.

Working with international organisations such as the World Bank and the IMF, the GSMA makes a series of tax-based recommendations that could help countries in Sub-Saharan Africa balance the competing objectives of raising government revenues while minimising the distortive impacts of taxation on digital development.

Universal Service Funds

The Universal Service Funds (USF) report was published on Day 3, Thursday 19th October. Find attached a copy of this report which will be available to download on the GSMA website from tomorrow morning.

This report includes research from the GSMA and ATU on the effectiveness of USFs in Africa. It shows that at least 51 of the 54 countries across the region have introduced, or are in the process of introducing, the USF mechanism as a means to deploy mobile broadband infrastructure in commercially unviable areas.

The report reveals an increasing use of USFs for non-infrastructure projects across the region, albeit with a lack of a systemic approach to these initiatives. It therefore argues for industry-wide collaboration to define uniform rationale, scope, success measures and performance evaluation mechanisms to guide efforts to use USFs for non-infrastructure projects.

Tech Neutrality Report

The GSMA has also released a report on Tech Neutrality. The report looks at the challenges the Sub-Saharan Africa region faces in its clean energy transition.

In a statement obtained by TechEconomy, Group Managing Director of Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc, Ravindra Singhvi, stated that the company’s PBT increased by N13.17 billion compared to N23.10 billion posted in the comparable period in 2022.

He attributed the positive results for the period to key trade interventions introduced during the year and positive market responses.

He recalled that the company recorded a PBT of N29.73 billion for the half year ended June 30, 2022, while PAT hit N20.24 billion in that period.

“Our impressive performance in the period demonstrates our resilience in the face of prevalent challenges, which rightly reflected in strong top-line growth as seen in the financial results,” he said.

Singhvi said that Dangote Sugar Refinery had continued to implement its sugar backward integration projects and enhance its out-growers scheme to support the economic growth of the immediate communities.

He said the company’s aim was to develop a robust out-grower scheme with no fewer than 5,000 out-growers when the projects have fully taken off. This, he explained, was in addition to the achievement of other targets of its “Sugar for Nigeria Project’ plan.

The key focus of the sugar refinery is the achievement of the Dangote Sugar Backward Integration Projects targets and putting Nigeria on the path of sugar self-sufficiency and the world sugar map.

“Employees’ health and safety, as well as that of its partners, remain a top priority at the company’s operations at the Apapa Refinery, its Sugar Backward Integration Operations in Numan, Adamawa, and Tunga, Nasarawa.

All processes are in compliance with stipulated health and safety protocols,” he said. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Dangote Sugar Refinery is Nigeria’s largest producer of household and commercial sugar with a 1.44M MT refining capacity.

The company refines raw sugar imported from Brazil into white, Vitamin A-fortified refined granulated white sugar suitable for household and industrial use.