•Tinubu and NANS logo
Nigerian students, under the aegis of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), have demanded the immediate sack of the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Zacch Adedeji, over what it described as “gross incompetence, poor performance, and total failure, especially in the design, execution, and public enlightenment about the Tax Reform Law”, scheduled to take effect from January 1, 2026.
This comes as the students’ union has announced January 14, 2026, as a national day of action against the controversial law, with plans underway to mobilise students nationwide for a protest to the Presidential Villa gate the same day.
This announcement came a few hours after President Bola Tinubu insisted that there was no going back on the January 1, 2026 tax law commencement, reports The Guardian.
In a statement signed last night by the NANS National President, Olushola Oladoja, the student body accused the FIRS leadership of failing to adequately engage critical stakeholders, particularly students and other vulnerable groups, before rolling out the controversial reforms.
According to the NANS President, the statement released by the presidency, reaffirming that implementation will proceed as planned from 1 January, stands as a “grave insult” to Nigerians.
“The government must understand that there can be no government without the governed and that while power may reside in offices, the power of the people is always greater than the people in power. It is against this backdrop that NANS declares Tuesday, 14 January 2026, as a National Day of Action against the implementation of the controversial Tax Reform Law,” Oladoja declared.
He argued that the absence of broad-based consultations and effective public sensitisation has created widespread confusion, misinformation and resistance to the policy across the country.
The association further maintained that the tax reform, as currently structured, would impose additional economic burdens on students and ordinary Nigerians already grappling with rising living costs.
It warned that proceeding with the implementation without addressing these concerns could exacerbate social tensions and undermine public trust in government policies.
He said the peaceful mass protest will commence from the Unity Fountain, Abuja, and terminate at the Presidential Villa Gate.
“As the NANS President, I therefore call on all NANS structures — campus chapters, state joints, zonal coordinators and the national secretariat — to commence immediate and massive mobilisation for a peaceful mass protest and march to the Presidential Villa Gate in Abuja on the said date. The convergence point shall be Unity Fountain, Abuja. Further operational details will be communicated in due course.
“Our demands remain clear, non-negotiable and just: immediate suspension of the implementation of the otherwise beautiful but deeply controversial Tax Reform Law; immediate removal of the Chairman of FIRS for gross incompetence, poor performance, and total failure, especially in the design, execution, and public enlightenment about the Tax Reform Law,” he said.
