Nigeria’s tax chief, Zacch Adedeji, has offered an unusual defence of President Bola Tinubu’s administration amid criticism that political leaders live comfortably while ordinary Nigerians struggle with rising living costs.
In a Channels Television interview, Adedeji, chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service, pointed to what he described as Tinubu’s personal simplicity. He said the President walks from his home to the office and rarely travels by car except when going to the airport.
“Mr President goes from home to office on foot, not even driving except when he is going to the airport. I don’t know where you see the convoy.”
Adedeji also highlighted the dramatic increase in funds being shared among the federal, state and local governments.
“When we came on board in 2023, the total monthly allocation was around ₦700 billion. Today we are sharing ₦4.5 trillion, that’s about 530%.”
He added:
“And people are talking about it not reaching the people. I was commissioner of finance 11 years ago, we used to come here looking for support to pay salaries, looking for bailouts. How many times have you heard that happen in the last 3 years?”
Those figures, if accurately presented, point to a major change in government revenue. But they do not automatically prove that the average Nigerian is better off.
That is where the argument becomes complicated. Higher government revenue can give states more money to pay salaries, build infrastructure and provide services. But Nigerians judge economic reforms less by how much government collects and more by what their income can actually buy.
A worker who receives the same salary while food, transport, rent and electricity become significantly more expensive may not feel much improvement simply because government revenue has increased.
The President’s alleged walking routine also raises a similar question. Whether Tinubu walks to work does not necessarily tell Nigerians whether public spending is efficient. The more important issue is how much government spends, where that money goes and whether citizens can see the results.
Adedeji’s comments therefore highlight the central challenge facing Tinubu’s economic reforms: turning better government finances into better household finances.
The administration can point to increased revenue and the avoidance of the fiscal crisis it says would have followed continued subsidies. But it will increasingly have to demonstrate the other half of the argument: that those difficult reforms are ultimately producing tangible improvements in Nigerians’ daily lives.
Because for many Nigerians, the question isn’t whether the President eats once a day or walks to work. It’s whether life is becoming more affordable.
It’s whether life is becoming more affordable.
