President Muhammadu Buhari ignored the plea to extend the tenure of former chairman of Federal Inland Revenue Service, Babatunde Fowler and has in his stead nominated for appointment Muhammad M. Nami as the new chairman.
Fowler thanked the President and was quoted as saying there is nothing automatic about having a second term.
Fowler had in the early hours of Monday before Nami’s nomination, written to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, asking to be allowed to continue his work at the helm of the FIRS to “consolidate and build on the achievements”.
The President also approved the composition of a new board for FIRS. Nami will be replacing Fowler who served for one term shrouded in controversy.
FOWLER’S CONTROVERSIAL TERM
The former FIRS Boss, Babatunde Fowler was nominated on 18th August 2015 and got appointed on 9th December of the same year as the substantive Executive Chairman of the FIRS.
The FIRS boss who was once accused of wielding a fake doctorate degree (from Irish International University) in a report published by Sahara reporters has in recent times been subjected to scrutiny by the presidency with a query issued to him by the President’s Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari on his inability to meet revenue target between 2015 and 2018.
It was reported that:
“In 2015, FIRS set N4.7 trillion target but was only able to make N3.7 trillion in the actual collection. In 2016, 2017 and 2018, the target collections were N4.2 trillion, N4.8 trillion and N6.7 trillion but the actual collections were N3.3 trillion, N4.0 trillion and N5.3 trillion, respectively.”
This query was suggested to be in line with ‘dealing’ with his childhood friend and former classmate, Vice President YemiOsinbajo who had reportedly fallen out with the ‘Cabal’ in Aso rock. Others have also insinuated that it is a subtle message to the South West base of the APC which Tinubu controls.
Though the Presidency revealed the former FIRS boss was not under any probe, there were insinuations that his tenure will not be renewed as is confirmed by the latest development.
It can be recalled that around the time the President’s Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari’s query was circulating, a group called itself “Concerned Staff of FIRS”, also petitioned President Buhari over what it called “the atrocities and infractions” allegedly perpetrated by Fowler. The group advised Buhari not to re-appoint Fowler.
Fowler was also reportedly embroiled in an alleged 6 billion naira tax fraud involving the most powerful Director in the agency (Coordinating Director, Support Services Group) Peter Hena and Director of Finance and Accounts (DFA), Mohammed Auta and seven other FIRS officials who are reportedly in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Leading Reporters reported that during an EFCC probe in the agency, it was revealed that one of Fowler’s aides had over N300m in a single account. She reportedly revealed that the said account is a conduit through which Fowler wires funds of the agency to his proxies, friends, including buying a Porsche car as a birthday gift for one of his girlfriends. The medium also reported that Fowler was desperately eyeing the position of Finance Minister or Central Bank of Nigeria Governor.
FIRS NEW BOSS
Muhammad Nami who has been nominated by the President for the position of a new chairman is a fellow of Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria, Institute of Debt Recovery Practitioners of Nigeria and Associate Member of Nigerian Institute of Management (Chartered) and Association of National Accountants of Nigeria.
With almost three decades of practical work experience in Auditing, Tax Management, and Advisory and Management services, Nami started his career with PFK in 1993. He is currently the Managing Consultant of Manam Professional Services (Chartered Tax Practitioners and Business Advisers).
This isn’t Nami’s first appointment as he was a member of the Presidential Committee on Audit of Recovered Stolen Assets in November 2017.
But while Nami on paper seems capable, can he be compared to Fowler’s achievements in the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service?
