FG⁷ to Sustain Borrowing Despite 411% Revenue Surge – FIRS Boss
Abuja, September 24, 2025 – Coolnews Report
The Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Dr. Zacch Adedeji, has said that the Federal Government will not abandon borrowing despite a sharp increase in its revenue performance in recent months.
Speaking to State House correspondents at the Aso Villa during the Presidential Communications Team’s “Meet-the-Press” series on Tuesday, Adedeji argued that borrowing remains an integral part of Nigeria’s economic framework and is not a weakness but a strategic tool for growth.
According to him, federal revenue collection hit ₦3.64 trillion in September 2025, representing a 411 per cent jump from ₦711 billion recorded in May 2023. The increase, he explained, was driven by higher non-oil revenue, improved VAT performance, and reforms that reduced the tax burden on small businesses while expanding compliance.
Despite this record-breaking performance, Adedeji insisted that borrowing is inevitable in any economy.
“Borrowing is not a problem. Is it not part of the budget that was presented to and approved by the National Assembly? Every budget has three components: expenditure, revenue, and loan. If we budget ₦100,000 expenditure and revenue is ₦80,000, we borrow ₦20,000. If we later generate ₦90,000 and borrow ₦10,000 as planned, what is wrong with that?” he asked.
The FIRS chief further explained that government borrowing is not meant for salaries but for long-term development projects. He likened it to what he called the “Matchy Concept” in business, which spreads costs across generations.
“When government borrows to build roads or critical infrastructure, it ensures that future users of such facilities also contribute through taxes. No country or company can grow sustainably without borrowing,” he stressed.
Adedeji dismissed critics of the government’s debt policy as “container economists” who rely on surface-level social media narratives without understanding the economic logic.
His remarks come two months after President Bola Tinubu sought approval for a $21.5 billion external loan package, including a $2 billion foreign bond and a ₦757.98 billion bond to settle pension liabilities. This request drew sharp criticism from opposition groups, particularly after Tinubu declared earlier in September that Nigeria had already met its 2025 revenue targets and would reduce reliance on borrowing.
Nonetheless, Adedeji maintained that borrowing is a vital component of Nigeria’s fiscal health. He pointed out that banks also benefit directly when the government borrows, since they earn interest, pay salaries from such profits, and remit taxes in turn.
Highlighting the September revenue performance, Adedeji disclosed that:
Non-oil collections surged to ₦1.06 trillion, up from ₦151 billion two years ago.
Oil revenue rose to ₦644 billion.
Value Added Tax (VAT) jumped more than threefold to ₦723 billion.
He attributed the progress to reforms such as tax harmonisation, excise rule updates, e-invoicing, and a new fiscal policy framework. Future plans, he added, include rationalising subnational levies, introducing a presumptive tax regime for hard-to-track groups, and cutting corporate tax rates.. Adedeji concluded that government borrowing is carefully structured to avoid excessive strain and is targeted at long-term projects that would secure Nigeria’s economic stability.
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