Controversy trails FIRS’ appointment of Xpress Payment as revenue collector over fear of another Alpha Beta

The penultimate week’s  quiet appointment of Xpress Payments Solutions Limited as a new TSA collecting agent has stirred up controversy over appropriateness of the agency. Leading the charge is former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, questioned the necessity and relevance of such step given the fact that TSA has operated for a decade without hitches.

This decision faced heavy criticism, primarily from Atiku  who alleged a lack of transparency and a potential move towards privatizing revenue collection.

In a statement released on social media  penultimate Sunday, Atiku described the decision as a move towards “state capture.” Meanwhile the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), in a swift reaction, dismissing his claims as misleading.

He also raised concerns about the lack of consultation, stakeholder engagement, and National Assembly oversight, questioning the value Xpress Payments adds compared with existing TSA channels and urging transparency in the terms, beneficiaries, fee structures, and selection criteria.

Recall that on November 18, The Federal Inland Revenue Service  appointed Xpress Payment Solutions Limited, a financial technology company, as Collecting Agent under the Treasury Single Account framework.

The appointment enables taxpayers on the FIRS TaxPro Max platform to use Xpress Payments as channel for remitting payments to Federal Government through TSA. Before the move, all payment to TSA go through Remita.

Taxpayers making statutory remittances, such as Company Income Tax, Value Added Tax, Withholding Tax and other FIRS payments can choose Xpress Payments while generating their Payment Reference No. on TaxPro Max. Payments can then be made conveniently online via XpressPay, the company’s secure payment gateway, or in person at any bank through e-Cashier, Xpress Payments’ in-branch collection platform.

Acting Managing Director of Xpress Payment Solutions, Wale Olayisade, lauded the partnership with FIRS, describing it as a milestone that underscores the company’s reliability and innovation in payment solutions. He assured taxpayers of a seamless experience while using the company’s platforms for their remittances.

“We are honoured to be selected by FIRS as a collecting agent under TSA. This partnership aligns with our mission to provide efficient, transparent and technology-driven payment solutions that support Nigeria’s economic growth and national development. Our systems are built to ensure ease, speed and security for every transaction.

‘‘We have put in place robust infrastructure and customer support to deliver a smooth and reliable tax payment experience to users,” Olayisade said.

Public Concern of Capture

But Olayisade’s joy is not shared by Atiku, who asserted that the quiet appointment of Xpress Payments was reminiscent of the Alpha Beta revenue model that dominated Lagos State in the Tinubu era, which he said created “a private toll gate around public revenue” and channelled funds into “the hands of a politically connected monopoly.” He warned that replicating this system nationally risked transforming Nigeria from a republic into “a private holding company controlled by a small circle of vested interests.”

“This is not reform. This is state capture masquerading as digital innovation,” he said, calling for the immediate suspension of the appointment, a comprehensive audit of TSA operations, and a legal framework to prevent private entities from acting as proxies in core government revenue systems. Nigeria’s revenues are not political spoils. They are the lifeblood of our national survival, especially at a time when insecurity is tearing communities apart,” Atiku added.

But a social commentator Aderemi Ogunpitan in a subtle counter to Atiku, noted that “I really wish Atiku’s people could do more research and engender a public space where political discourse is well informed. His recent comments about the FIRS appointment of Xpress Payments create the impression that the government has handed over tax collection to a private group. That is not what is happening.

“Taxes still go straight into the Treasury Single Account at the Central Bank, just as before. Xpress doesn’t touch the money, doesn’t hold it, and doesn’t decide what anyone pays. It only provides another channel through which people can make their tax payments, cards, transfers, POS, bank branches, online platforms, so the process is faster and easier. It’s the same way you pay for a passport or electricity: a private payment gateway moves the money, but the money belongs to government from the moment you press “pay.”

“This is not some strange Nigerian invention. The U.S IRS works with private payment processors. The UK uses card processors for HMRC tax payments. India’s GST system relies on banks and gateways. Brazil’s tax payments run through banks, PSPs and its instant payment system, Pix. What Nigeria is doing simply reflects what modern tax systems all over the world already do: use existing private payment infrastructure to make it easier for people to pay and easier for government to reconcile the payments.

“Adding Xpress does not create a cartel; it actually expands the options available to taxpayers. Before this, people mostly relied on Remita, banks and a few other systems. Now there is another channel competing on speed, uptime and ease of use. The result should be fewer failed payments, faster posting, fewer reconciliation headaches and less frustration for businesses.

“The real issue Atiku touches, though without clarity, is transparency. Nigerians absolutely deserve to know the terms of any arrangement involving public revenue: what fees are charged, who pays them, how the company was selected, and what performance standards it must meet.

More Transparency Please

But Dr. Abayomi Onietan, a political economist, told Business Hallmark that  “Atiku’s comment is valid, and what makes it valid is the fact that FIRS has not told the nation the terms of the agreement, how they arrived at Xpress Payment when what we know about it is that it was set up sometimes in 2016. Are there not more experienced Fintech that can handle it.”

Boroh Prekeme, a retired civil servant, told Business Hallmark that “What we need now is combating insecurity, this controversy over Xpress Payment Solutions is needless, though I understand where the former vice president is coming from, given the experience of Alpha Beta, but the explanation of FIRS has resolved the riddle.”

In a statement signed by Arabinrin Aderonke Atoyebi, Technical Assistant on Broadcast Media to the Executive Chairman, the agency clarified that no monopoly had been granted to any private entity. “The FIRS does not operate any exclusive or single-gateway revenue-collection arrangement, and no private entity has been granted a monopoly over government revenues,” the statement read.

The FIRS explained that Nigeria operates a multi-channel, multi-Payment Solution Service Provider (PSSP) framework, which includes Quickteller, Remita, Etranzact, Flutterwave, and Xpress Payments. “No private entity has been granted a monopoly over government revenues,” the statement emphasised.

The agency also clarified that PSSPs does not act as collection agents, do not earn a processing fee per payment, and have no access to government funds, which are remitted directly into the Federation Account.

According to the FIRS, the multi-channel framework is designed to improve efficiency, broaden options for taxpayers, enhance accountability, and promote innovation and employment within the financial technology sector.

“All PSSPs are admitted through a transparent, open, and verifiable procedure that ensures fairness and equal opportunity,” the statement said, stressing that ongoing tax reform aims to modernize Nigeria’s revenue system and must not be “dragged into partisan controversy.”