NIGERIA: JRB Targets Illegal Road Taxes, Pushes Unified Revenue Administration

By Ameenat Hamzat, Lagos, Nigeria 

The Joint Revenue Board (JRB) has moved to clamp down on illegal road tax collection and unauthorised levies across Nigeria, calling for urgent security intervention to dismantle roadblocks mounted by non-state actors along major transport corridors.

The decision followed deliberations at the 158th meeting of the Board, held on December 9 and 10, 2025, in Abuja, where revenue authorities reviewed Nigeria’s transition to a more coordinated national revenue administration framework.

The resolutions were contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting and made public on Monday, December 15, 2025 and jointly signed by Zacch Adedeji, PhD, Chairman of the Joint Revenue Board, and Olusegun Adesokan, Executive Secretary of the Board.

The Board said illegal tax collection practices undermine public trust, distort revenue processes and expose taxpayers to harassment, particularly at the sub-national level.

Speaking on the outcome of the meeting, the Chairman of the Joint Revenue Board, Zacch Adedeji, said the Board was determined to sanitise Nigeria’s revenue value chain and protect citizens from unlawful levies.

The communique reads: “The Board restates its commitment to eradicating the menace of non-state actors in the nation’s revenue administration value-chain and calls on the Office of the National Security Adviser, the Nigeria Police Force and all relevant security agencies to take immediate steps towards eliminating illegal roadblocks mounted and operated along the nation’s road transport corridors for the purpose of collecting taxes, levies, rates and charges.”

The Board also declared an outright end to the use of road stickers and similar enforcement instruments by both state and non-state actors, describing the practice as unlawful.

“The Board re-emphasizes the outright abolition of the design, production, issuance and enforcement of all manner of road stickers and related instruments by both state and non-state actors, and encourages Nigerians to resist such practices and report promoters of these illegal instruments to security authorities for appropriate sanctions.”

The communiqué further highlighted the significance of the transition from the Joint Tax Board to the Joint Revenue Board, describing it as a major reform aimed at improving coordination and efficiency in revenue administration nationwide.

According to the Board, the future of effective tax administration depends on accurate and interoperable data, improved information sharing and the deployment of modern analytics tools.

It further stated: “The Board affirmed that the future of tax administration hinges on accurate, comprehensive and interoperable data, and resolved that strengthening data-sharing frameworks and deploying analytics tools will promote streamlined processes and harmonisation of revenue practices.”

The JRB also commended the Federal Government for ongoing fiscal and tax reforms, noting their potential to boost revenue mobilisation, enhance economic competitiveness and deepen fiscal sustainability across the federation.

In addition, states were urged to expedite the passage of the Harmonised Taxes and Levies (Approved List for Collection) Bill to ensure uniform application of taxes, rates and levies at the sub-national level.

It added: “The Board calls on all states to expedite action on the passage of the Harmonised Taxes and Levies Bill into law for uniform application of taxes, rates and levies, in line with the national objectives of the ongoing tax reforms.”