Africa needs to stop losing billions of dollars every year to illicit financial flows, tax evasion, and shady corporate practices if it wants to fund hospitals, schools, roads, and real economic growth, according to Nigeria’s top revenue official.
Zacch Adedeji, Executive Chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), made the call on Tuesday while speaking at the African Union’s sub-committee meeting on tax and illicit financial flows in Abuja.
The gathering brought together finance ministers, tax bosses, and development partners from across the continent to find practical ways to keep more money inside African economies instead of watching it disappear abroad.Adedeji painted a sobering picture: every year, huge sums that could transform lives are siphoned off through illegal money transfers, trade mispricing, and clever tax avoidance schemes.“
These outflows represent lost hospitals, lost schools, lost infrastructure, and lost investments in the future of our people,” he said.He stressed that beating the problem will require countries to work together, because illicit flows don’t respect borders — they thrive on gaps between different national rules.Adedeji also highlighted Nigeria’s ongoing tax reforms, which aim to make the system fairer, wider, and more modern by using technology to improve compliance and transparency.“
These changes are part of a bigger plan to raise more money locally, run a cleaner government, and create a stable environment that attracts genuine investment,”