In a sweeping move that could finally end the era of harassment on Nigeria’s highways, the Joint Revenue Board (JRB) has declared an all-out war on illegal roadblocks and road stickers, calling on security agencies to immediately dismantle unauthorised checkpoints used to extort motorists.
The JRB, at its 158th meeting held on December 9 and 10, 2025 at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, vowed to sanitise the country’s revenue collection system, warning that the days of cash collections, road taxes and sticker enforcement are numbered.
Rising from the meeting themed “Managing Transition: Driving Transformation, Building the Future of Tax Administration in Nigeria,” the Board issued a strongly worded communiqué insisting on the outright abolition of all forms of road stickers and similar instruments used by state and non-state actors to extract levies from road users.
In the communiqué co-signed by the Chairman of the Joint Revenue Board, Zacch Adedeji, and the Executive Secretary, Olusegun Adesokan, the Board described illegal roadblocks as a major threat to economic activity, national security and the integrity of Nigeria’s tax administration system.
“The Board restates its commitment to eradicating the menace of non-state actors in the nation’s revenue administration value chain,” the communiqué said, while calling on the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies to take immediate action against illegal roadblocks mounted along major transport corridors.
According to the JRB, such roadblocks are routinely used for the unlawful collection of taxes, levies, rates and charges, particularly at the sub-national level, contributing to multiple taxation, extortion and disruption of business activities.
In a firm stance, the Board also reaffirmed the “outright abolition” of the design, production, issuance and enforcement of road stickers by any authority, urging Nigerians to resist such demands and report offenders to security agencies for prosecution.
“The enforcement of road stickers in any form is illegal. Nigerians are encouraged to reject them and report all promoters to the appropriate authorities for sanctions,” the Board declared.
The JRB further commended the Federal Government for its sweeping fiscal and tax reforms, noting that the policies have the potential to boost revenue mobilisation, improve the ease of doing business, enhance economic competitiveness and strengthen fiscal sustainability across the federation.
It also hailed the transition of the Joint Tax Board into the Joint Revenue Board, describing it as a bold institutional reform aimed at building a more coordinated, efficient and coherent national revenue administration framework.
The Board stressed that the future of tax administration in Nigeria lies in accurate, comprehensive and interoperable data, resolving to strengthen data-sharing frameworks and deploy analytics tools to promote harmonised and transparent revenue practices nationwide.
As part of efforts to deepen uniformity, the JRB called on all states to fast-track the passage of the Harmonised Taxes and Levies (Approved List for Collection) Bill into law, warning that failure to do so would undermine the objectives of the ongoing tax reforms.
With this declaration, stakeholders say the JRB has thrown down the gauntlet, setting the stage for a major showdown between reform-driven authorities and entrenched interests feeding off illegal road taxes and checkpoints across the country.
SOURCE: tribuneonlineng.com