Ayodele Subair’s Matchless Efforts in Lagos

No fanfare trails him through the corridors of Alausa, yet his fingerprints are everywhere, starting from the quiet hum of servers processing tax filings and extending to the renewed confidence of Lagos businesses that finally see order in the chaos. Ayodele Subair, Executive Chairman of the Lagos Internal Revenue Service (LIRS), has become the calm conductor of the state’s fiscal orchestra.

When Subair stepped up in 2016, Lagos was already Nigeria’s economic heart, but its tax machinery creaked like an overused generator. He oiled it. Digitised it. Then rebuilt the rhythm altogether. Now, in 2025, as Nigeria overhauls its tax laws, Lagos stands ready.

Experienced eyes recognise this to be a readiness by design rather than luck. At a recent Lagos Chamber of Commerce forum, Subair’s composure told the story: the city is prepared to lead, again.

The four new tax laws signed by President Bola Tinubu mark a turning point for the country’s fiscal identity. They promise simpler rules, digital filing, whistleblower protection, and a faster appeal system. Yet behind those broad promises lies the more delicate task of making people believe in the system. That, Subair knows, is the real work.

His office has already begun the dance of transition of training staff, updating digital portals, and holding open forums to explain new compliance rules. He calls it “building trust through transparency,” a mantra he has lived by since launching Lagos’s first Whistleblower Initiative, an experiment that turned scrutiny into collaboration. Even civil society groups applauded.

Inside the LIRS, Subair’s leadership style is less whip, more quiet compass. He once raised salaries by 70 per cent for junior staff, insisting that “a motivated workforce multiplies revenue faster than fear ever will.” Promotions follow merit, not patronage. In Lagos, that feels almost radical.

Today, as new national reforms loom, Subair’s Lagos stands like a test case for Nigeria’s ambitions. Clearly, here is a place where tax is less about punishment and more about partnership. The quiet accountant at the top may never court headlines, but he is proof that governance, when done right, hums louder than applause.