The Federal Government has commenced a sweeping transformation of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) into the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), with senior officials confirming that internal restructuring is already underway ahead of the new agency’s official take-off on January 1, 2026.

The transition follows President Bola Tinubu’s assent to the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, 2025, which repeals the 2007 FIRS Act and establishes a broader, technology-driven national revenue authority tasked with collecting virtually all federal revenues — not just taxes.

Senior FIRS insiders described the changes as “structural and comprehensive,” noting that:

• Coordinating Directors have been redesignated or replaced by Executive Directors, one from each of Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, as mandated by the new law.
• Departments and units are being merged, split, or realigned to fit the NRS framework.
• Some senior staff have been absorbed into the new structure, while others have exited.
• New governance organs — including a Governing Board chaired by the Executive Chairman and a Management/Technical Committee — are being constituted.

“We are restructuring from top to bottom,” one senior official said. “Everyone is eagerly awaiting January 1 when we officially become the Nigeria Revenue Service. The mood is positive; people see this as modernisation.”

Key features of the NRS under the 2025 Act include:

• Authority to collect and account for all federal revenues (income tax, VAT, CIT, stamp duties, etc.), excluding only petroleum royalties.
• Sweeping enforcement powers: asset freezing, confiscation, illicit-flow tracing, and collaboration with domestic and international agencies.
• Ability to provide administrative support to states and local governments that request assistance, with revenues remitted directly.
• Funding through 4% of non-oil revenue collected, appropriated by the National Assembly.
• Strict secrecy obligations for staff, with breaches punishable by fines up to ₦5 million or three years’ imprisonment.
• Automatic transfer of all FIRS assets, liabilities, staff, contracts, and court cases to the NRS on January 1.

The Act also introduces zonal representation at the highest level: the President will appoint up to six non-ex-officio board members (one per zone) and six Executive Directors (one per zone) to head major directorates.

While the final organogram is still being fine-tuned and expected to be unveiled closer to the launch date, staff report high morale and minimal disruption to ongoing 2025 tax drives.

The creation of the NRS is the centerpiece of Tinubu’s tax-reform package, designed to boost non-oil revenue, reduce reliance on borrowing, and modernize an agency long criticized for inefficiency and overlap with state revenue bodies. If implemented effectively, the NRS could become one of the most powerful revenue agencies in Africa, reshaping Nigeria’s fiscal landscape.