NRS Boss Highlights Nigeria’s Economic Pathway to Prosperity

Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo

The chairman, Nigeria Revenue Service, Dr. Zacch Adedeji, yesterday noted that the task of turning Nigeria’s economic potentials to prosperity requires political will and a commitment lasting beyond election cycles.

Adedeji stated this at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State while speaking on the maiden Faculty of Administration distinguished personality lecture with the theme: From potential to prosperity: Export-led economy.

According to him, “to sustain the current economic gains, the country must prioritize complexity, not just diversification, but must also target production of sophisticated goods.”

He equally called for a data-driven process that will identify goods that can be produced using the available skills or the skills that can be easily acquired.

He also gave warning against relying solely on natural endowment to propel the nation’s economic growth and called for elimination of policy incoherence calling for alignment of government’s actions to support integration into the global economy.

While speaking on the three guiding principles that must be adopted to stimulate the country’s economic potentials to prosperity, Adedeji posited that, “First, we must prioritize complexity,
not just diversification. Our goal isn’t just to add more low-value products like raw nuts or seeds to our list. We want to increase our
Economic Complexity Index (ECI) by
targeting sophisticated goods that
embody deep collective knowhow.”

He remarked: “We must make strategic bets based on the Product Space. Industrial policy shouldn’t be about picking winners out of thin air. It must be a data-driven process where we identify “nearby” products, things we can actually produce using the skills we already have or can easily acquire.”

He further stressed that export-orientation must be our organizing principle. Every single policy, whether it’s about taxes, trade,
or infrastructure, must be judged by one question: Does this make Nigerian
exporters less competitive? We must eliminate policy incoherence and align every part of the government to support our integration into the global economy.”

He said President Bola Tinubu had already begun the difficult work of rebuilding the economy, noting that the goal must be to transform Nigeria into a nation that possesses the collective knowledge to produce, innovate and compete.

Adedeji contended that the revenue service had been pushing for reforms to improve the country’s economy and make it more buoyant.