The Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Dr Zacch Adedeji, has offered new partnership opportunities to Nigerian tertiary institutions, saying the agency is ready to support universities and other higher institutions to become incubators of innovation and drivers of real-world solutions.
Adedeji made the offer while delivering the 2025 Distinguished Lecture of the University of Ilesa, Osun State.
Speaking on the theme “Economic Resilience in an Era of Dwindling Revenue”, he analysed Nigeria’s current fiscal realities and proposed practical strategies for building a resilient economy under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
He outlined key reforms undertaken by the FIRS under his leadership, including automation and digitisation, expansion and modernisation of the tax base, collaboration with states on tax harmonisation, and institutional repositioning to strengthen public trust.
Adedeji stressed the need to shift Nigeria’s productive base away from crude oil and towards multiple growth engines such as agro-processing, the digital economy, the creative industry, and solid minerals.
He emphasised that building economic resilience is not the government’s responsibility alone, urging academics and other stakeholders to champion research that addresses contemporary challenges. He added that the FIRS is ready to partner with scholars and institutions to bridge the town-and-gown gap.
He listed potential areas of collaboration, including joint research on domestic revenue mobilisation, tax equity, digitisation, and the creation of tax policy innovation hubs where academics and practitioners can co-develop and test scalable ideas.
Charging students to rise to national expectations, he said: “In building a resilient Nigeria, we need minds that think critically, hands that build institutionally, and hearts that serve patriotically.”
Adedeji also used the occasion to pay glowing tribute to the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Taiwo Asaolu, who taught him at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. He recounted how Prof. Asaolu paid for his final-stage ICAN examinations when he was a second-year undergraduate student with no means to register.
He narrated how Asaolu, after noticing his discouragement and learning of his financial challenge, immediately issued him a cheque covering the exam fees. “I sat for the examinations and passed. That was how I became a chartered accountant in Part 2,” he said, drawing resounding applause from the audience.
Adedeji further recalled an incident during his ICAN final exams when he was accused of cheating—an offence punishable by a six-year ban. He said Prof. Asaolu staked his own ICAN certificate, insisting he knew Adedeji’s academic integrity and capability.
To prove Adedeji’s innocence, Asaolu challenged the supervisor to either compare his script with the notes found under the desk or give him a fresh answer sheet with instructions not to attempt the earlier questions. If he failed, the supervisor could seize Asaolu’s certificate. The supervisor chose the second option. Adedeji answered the new questions and passed excellently.
According to him, Asaolu’s intervention saved him from an unjust six-year ban. “That is why Professor Asaolu is not just my lecturer; he is my father,” he declared.
Earlier, Prof. Asaolu said the two-year-old university established the public lecture series as a platform for discussing pressing national and global issues and exploring sustainable solutions to Nigeria’s economic challenges.
