The Federal Inland Revenue Service has dismissed allegations by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar claiming that the appointment of Xpress Payments as a payment channel for federal revenue collection was politically motivated.
It insisted that the remark was “misleading” and risks distorting public understanding of Nigeria’s tax administration system.
Atiku had, in a statement, accused the Federal Government of handing a “monopoly” to Xpress Payments for tax collections.
But responding on Sunday, the Technical Assistant on Broadcast Media to the FIRS Chairman, Aderonke Atoyebi, said the former Vice President’s assertions were incorrect and capable of politicising what she described as a purely administrative and technical issue.
“His assertions are incorrect, misleading, and risk unnecessarily politicising a purely administrative and technical process.
“For the avoidance of doubt, 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,” Atoyebi said in a statement.
Setting out the agency’s position, Atoyebi explained that the service currently uses multiple Payment Solution Service Providers, including Quickteller, Remita, Etranzact, Flutterwave and XpressPay, as part of efforts to simplify tax payment and expand access for taxpayers across the country.
According to her, PSSPs do not act as revenue collectors and do not retain a percentage of government revenue.
“All revenues collected through these channels go directly into the Federation Account, without diversion, intermediaries, or private control. No PSSP has access to, or custody of, government funds,” she stated.
Atoyebi added that the system was deliberately structured to avoid the dominance of any single platform, strengthen accountability and boost innovation within the financial technology ecosystem.
She stressed that the onboarding of payment service providers is conducted through a transparent, verifiable and competitive process that ensures fairness for all market players.
The official also argued that Atiku’s claims were unnecessary at a time when the country was implementing comprehensive tax reforms.
“The ongoing national tax reform, driven by the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, is central to modernising Nigeria’s economy and should not be dragged into partisan controversy. This reform has come to stay,” she added.
Atiku, a frequent critic of the current administration’s economic management and political issues, had raised concerns that Xpress Payments, allegedly linked to political associates, was favoured to manage tax payment channels, a move he described as opaque and potentially harmful to public trust.
The former Vice President argued that granting such roles to politically exposed firms could undermine transparency in revenue management and place critical fiscal functions in private hands.
However, the FIRS maintained that its processes had not been compromised and warned political actors against portraying routine administrative functions as partisan manoeuvres.
“The tax administration system is too important to be subjected to misinformation or unnecessary alarm,” the statement read.
The agency reaffirmed its commitment to professionalism, transparency and strengthening national revenue mobilisation in the interest of Nigerians.
Xpress Payment Solutions was formally announced as a collecting agent for the FIRS under the TSA on November 19, 2025.
The appointment enables taxpayers using the FIRS TaxPro Max platform to select XpressPay as a payment option when generating Payment Reference Numbers.
