How Tinubu Govt Quietly Appointed Lagos Private Firm, Xpress Payments, To Collect Federal Taxes —Atiku Kicks
The former vice president argued that federal revenue collection should not be outsourced to private proxies, especially under a system like the TSA which was specifically designed to eliminate third-party interference
By Jake Clifford
The FIRS has quietly named a private firm, Xpress Payments Solutions Limited as an authorised TSA collecting agent, allowing taxpayers to remit Company Income Tax (CIT), Value Added Tax (VAT), Withholding Tax (WHT) and other federal levies via XpressPay, the company’s payment platform. The arrangement permits payments to be made online or physically at participating banks through the company’s e-Cashier interface.
However, reacting to the appointment, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has strongly rejected the recent appointment of Xpress Payments Solutions Limited as a collecting agent under the Federal Government’s Treasury Single Account (TSA) framework, describing the move as a “dangerous nationalisation of the Lagos revenue cartel model.”
In a detailed statement issued on Sunday on his verified X account formerly known as Twitter, the former presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) warned that the decision by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to authorise a private financial technology company to collect federal taxes poses grave risks to transparency, accountability, and the integrity of Nigeria’s public finance system.
Although the agency described the appointment as an effort to “expand taxpayer convenience,” Atiku rejected the explanation, saying the development mirrors what he called the “Alpha Beta revenue cartel” that dominated Lagos State’s tax system for over two decades.
“This is not administration. This is state capture,” Atiku says
Atiku, who has long been critical of what he views as the over-centralisation of state revenue in private hands, said the Tinubu administration’s move echoes a familiar pattern. “The quiet appointment of Xpress Payments Solutions Limited as a new TSA collecting agent is not an administrative decision,” he wrote. “It is a dangerous resurrection of the Alpha Beta revenue cartel that dominated Lagos State during and after the Tinubu years.
That model created a private toll gate around public revenue and funnelled state funds into the hands of a politically connected monopoly.”
The former vice president argued that federal revenue collection should not be outsourced to private proxies, especially under a system like the TSA which was specifically designed to eliminate third-party interference.
The TSA, implemented under the Buhari administration and expanded from earlier frameworks established during the Jonathan era, serves as the government’s unified banking structure that consolidates all federal revenues in a single account at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Its purpose is to minimise leakages, enhance oversight, and promote financial discipline.
According to Atiku, the new appointment threatens to reverse the progress made in sanitising Nigeria’s public revenue ecosystem, a move Atiku says is shrouded in secrecy.
The former vice president posed several questions which he said the Federal Government must immediately answer:
Why was the appointment rushed and quietly implemented without stakeholder consultation or legislative review?
What value does Xpress Payments provide that existing TSA channels do not already offer?
Who benefits from this arrangement—Nigerians or a politically connected inner circle?
Atiku argued that the lack of transparency behind the selection process raises significant red flags, insisting that only a full public disclosure of the contract and all its beneficiaries can clear the air.
“This is not reform. This is state capture masquerading as digital innovation,” he declared. A national distraction during a period of insecurity .
Atiku further criticised the timing of the announcement, saying the government’s focus should be on protecting citizens amid worsening insecurity across several states—not expanding revenue channels for private firms. “To introduce such a policy in the middle of a national tragedy, while Nigerians are mourning loved ones lost to the deepening insecurity crisis, is not only insensitive, it is a deliberate act of governance by stealth,” he wrote.
“When a nation is grieving, leadership should show empathy and focus on securing lives, not on expanding private revenue pipelines.” He added that Nigeria “does not need more middlemen between citizens and their government revenue” but rather a more transparent, accountable tax administration.
Atiku’s demands to the Federal Government The former PDP chieftain called for immediate intervention to prevent what he fears may become a deeper pattern of privatising core state functions.
He outlined five specific actions:
Immediate suspension of Xpress Payments Solutions’ appointment.
Full public disclosure of the contract details, fee structures, beneficiaries, and selection criteria.
A comprehensive audit of TSA operations to detect and block any attempt to reintroduce private intermediaries into public revenue management.
Legislative reform to prohibit the outsourcing of core revenue functions to private companies.
A refocus on national security, stressing that economic governance cannot be conducted “in the shadows” while the country faces deadly attacks and kidnappings.
“Nigeria’s revenues are not political spoils,” Atiku insisted. “They are the lifeblood of our national survival, especially at a time when insecurity is tearing communities apart.” He concluded his statement with a stark warning: “Nigeria is not Lagos. The government must abandon this Lagos-style revenue cartelisation and return to the path of transparency, constitutionalism, and public accountability.”
About Xpress Payments Solutions Limited Xpress Payments Solutions Limited is a Nigerian fintech company incorporated in 2016.
The firm, which it headquarters is located at No 23, Oba Akinjobi Way, Lagos, Nigeria, specialises in the development and deployment of electronic payment platforms, digital billing systems, collections, and fund-disbursement solutions.
While the company has grown significantly within the financial services industry, critics—now led by Atiku—argue that its elevation to a TSA collecting agent requires greater scrutiny due to the sensitive nature of its new role.
The road ahead
As the debate intensifies, neither the FIRS nor the Ministry of Finance has provided further clarification beyond the initial announcement. Civil society groups and financial governance experts are also beginning to weigh in, warning that outsourcing parts of the TSA could undermine the system’s very purpose. Whether the government will bow to pressure and publicly defend the appointment—or reverse it—remains to be seen.
However, Atiku’s criticism has already amplified national concern and set the stage for what may become another major political and economic debate in the country.
Read more at: https://newsweekng.com/how-tinubu-govt-quietly-appointed-lagos-private-firm-xpress-payments-to-collect-federal-taxes-atiku-kicks/
