Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State says Nigeria’s tax reforms have significantly increased revenue mobilisation, with national revenue reaching N21.6 trillion in the first half of 2026.

Mr Sani stated this on Wednesday in Kaduna at the 160th meeting of the Joint Revenue Board, themed “One Year of Tax Reform: Assessing Progress and Addressing Challenges”.

He said national revenue stood at about N10.1 trillion in 2023, N21.6 trillion in 2024 and approximately N36.8 trillion in 2025.

According to him, revenue in the first half of 2026 reached N21.6 trillion, representing a 49 per cent increase over the corresponding period of 2025.

The governor commended President Bola Tinubu for taking what he described as a bold and politically demanding decision to fundamentally reform Nigeria’s tax architecture.

He said the reforms included landmark legislation that transformed the former Joint Tax Board into the Joint Revenue Board.

Mr Sani said the reform reflected an understanding that a modern economy could not be sustained through an outdated, fragmented or overly complex revenue system.

He said Nigeria needed a tax architecture that was coherent, predictable and efficient, while supporting development without unnecessarily constraining enterprise and investment.

The governor also commended the chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service, Zacch Adedeji, for his leadership in advancing the country’s tax reform agenda.

He said Mr Adedeji’s contribution went beyond technical competence to strengthening revenue mobilisation while making taxation simpler, fairer and more predictable for taxpayers.

According to Mr Sani, reforms of such magnitude require courage, patience, consensus building and institutional capacity to translate legislation into effective administrative practice.

The governor also commended Jerry Adams, the immediate past Executive Chairman of the Kaduna State Internal Revenue Service, and his team.

He said their efforts increased Kaduna’s internally generated revenue from barely N4 billion to N10 billion monthly.

Mr Sani said the revenue figures represented more than fiscal statistics, describing them as evidence of Nigeria’s growing capacity to finance development through domestic resources.

He said the reforms were designed to simplify taxation, reduce multiple and overlapping taxes, deploy technology and e-invoicing, and minimise revenue leakages.

The governor added that the reforms would consolidate revenue administration and rebuild the relationship between government and taxpayers.

He said sustainable taxation could not rely on coercion alone but must be founded on fairness, transparency, predictability and trust.

According to him, citizens and businesses are more likely to comply when tax obligations are clear and public resources are responsibly utilised.

“The objective should not simply be to collect more revenue but to build a tax system where compliance becomes easier,” he said.

Mr Sani said Kaduna had embraced the philosophy through KADIRS by investing in technology-driven revenue collection and professionalising its workforce.

He added that the state was strengthening taxpayer education and engagement to create a broader, fairer and more sustainable revenue system.

The governor said Kaduna’s strategy was to expand the tax base rather than continually burden existing compliant taxpayers.

“We seek to make compliance easier and enforcement more intelligent, targeted and transparent,” he said.

Mr Sani said the state was also working to establish a relationship with taxpayers based on clarity, fairness and mutual responsibility.

He said the institutional architecture created by the new tax reforms remained critical to achieving a more effective and responsive revenue administration system.

(NAN)