Summary: NRS Executive Chairman Zacch Adedeji has stirred massive debate online after claiming President Tinubu treks to his office and eats just once daily, pushing back against allegations of extravagant living. Nigerians are not keeping quiet about it.**
If you thought your Monday morning would be drama-free, the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) Executive Chairman, Zacch Adedeji, had other plans. The tax boss has set Nigerian social media ablaze after making some eyebrow-raising claims about President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s daily lifestyle — and let’s just say, Nigerians in the comment sections are giving their full “oga, abeg” energy.
What Exactly Did Adedeji Say?
According to Adedeji, all the noise about President Tinubu living large at the expense of suffering Nigerians is nothing but exaggeration. The NRS boss reportedly claimed that the President actually walks to his office* within the Aso Rock Villa and *eats only once a day — painting a picture of a frugal, hardworking leader who is just as committed to sacrifice as he is asking ordinary Nigerians to be.
This statement came as a direct pushback against widespread criticisms that the Tinubu administration has been living extravagantly while everyday Nigerians are grinding under the crushing weight of fuel subsidy removal, naira devaluation, and skyrocketing food prices.
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The Internet Did Not Shift
As you can imagine, Nigerians — ever sharp, ever ready — did not let this one slide quietly into the night.
Many took to social media to express everything from outright disbelief to sharp-tongued humour. The kind of reactions only this side of the world can produce:
– “He treks from his bedroom to his office inside Aso Rock? That’s the sacrifice we’re supposed to celebrate?”
– “Eating once a day with what food though? Eba and egusi or the kind of ‘once a day’ that comes with five courses?”
– “Meanwhile, my salary has not been able to buy a bag of rice since last year. Somebody should come and collect this joke.”
The sarcasm was thick, and understandably so. For millions of Nigerians who are genuinely eating once a day not by choice but by circumstance, the comparison hit differently — and not in a flattering way.
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Why This Matters Beyond the Jokes
Beyond the memes and the Twitter (now X) chaos, there’s a deeper conversation happening here. Nigerians are not just reacting to what Adedeji said — they are reacting to what it represents: a growing disconnect between government messaging and the realities on the ground.
When a top government official uses “trekking within a presidential villa” and “eating once daily” as evidence of austerity, it signals how far apart the government’s perception of sacrifice is from what ordinary Nigerians are experiencing daily.
In markets across Lagos, Kano, Aba, and Enugu, traders are struggling. Students are dropping out. Workers are choosing between transport fare and food. For these Nigerians, the idea that trekking a few metres inside one of the most fortified and luxurious residences in West Africa counts as “living simply” is, at best, tone-deaf.
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The Bigger Picture
To be fair, defenders of the administration argue that critics are missing the point — that Adedeji was simply trying to humanise the President and counter what they describe as unfair narratives about government waste.
But in a country where the government recently approved billions for presidential aircraft maintenance, where estacodes and allowances for public officials remain jaw-dropping, and where the cost of governance continues to be a sore point — such claims are always going to face an uphill battle for credibility.
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Bottom Line
Whether you believe Adedeji’s claims or you’re firmly in the “abeg, leave story” camp, one thing is clear: the conversation about how Nigeria’s leaders live versus how its people survive is not going away anytime soon.
If anything, statements like this pour more fuel on that fire.
And as any Nigerian will tell you — when you enter that kind of fire, you better have something more substantial than “he treks to the office.”
What do you think? Is the criticism of President Tinubu’s lifestyle fair, or are people being too harsh? Drop your thoughts in the comments below.
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