The Executive Chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), Zacch Adedeji, has defended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu against claims of an extravagant lifestyle, insisting that the President lives modestly despite occupying the nation’s highest office.
CDA News Nigeria gathered that Adedeji made the remarks during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics programme, where he was pressed by journalist Seun Okinbaloye on the lifestyles of political officeholders amid growing public concern over government spending and rising living costs across the country.
Responding to questions about the President’s movements and reported use of luxury vehicles, Adedeji claimed that Tinubu usually walks from his residence to his office and only makes use of a vehicle when travelling to the airport. “Mr President goes from home to office on foot, not even driving except when he is going to the airport. I don’t know where you see the convoy. Before he became president, what is he riding?” Adedeji said.
CDA News Nigeria reports that when questioned specifically about the number of Escalade sport-utility vehicles reportedly attached to the President’s convoy, Adedeji challenged the premise of the question outright, arguing that a sitting Nigerian president could comfortably afford such vehicles. “How much is an Escalade that the president of Nigeria cannot afford? Please don’t embarrass this country,” he said.
The NRS chairman further claimed that Tinubu eats only once daily and had not travelled outside Nigeria in the preceding three months, describing the President as someone who spends much of his time reviewing official documents rather than attending social functions. “What is living large? In the last months, he has not even left the shores of this country, trekking and working. If you go there now, you will see him review one document or the other. So what is living large? The president eats once in a day. How many parties have you seen him at in the last three years? Tell me where you have seen him, whether on holiday or anywhere?” Adedeji stated.
CDA News Nigeria gathered that Adedeji also pointed to Tinubu’s background as a former Lagos State governor and former treasurer at Mobil, describing him as an accountant and investor whose personal lifestyle, in his view, should not be portrayed as lavish.
The comments have since drawn sharp reactions from Nigerians on social media, many of whom criticised the NRS chairman’s remarks as an inadequate response to broader concerns over the cost of governance, particularly at a time when the country continues to grapple with elevated headline and food inflation alongside a N70,000 minimum wage. Adedeji’s defence forms part of an ongoing national conversation over government spending and the lifestyles of public officials amid widespread economic hardship confronting Nigerian households.
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