The presidential nomination of Mohammad Nami as the new chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has elicited various reactions. For some “the controversy that trailed the removal of the former chairman, Babatunde Fowler”, for others, “the swift replacement” and for most, “Nami lacks experience and is just another appointee from the North”.
Renowned Economist and 2019 presidential candidate for the Abundant Nigeria Renewal Party, Tope Fasua is not surprised at Nami’s nomination as ‘Buhari has proven himself to be nepotistic.’
“I ran against President Buhari, we have done that battle in the past, we know the kind of person he is, we know the people he knows, we know that his purview and most of the time we know if he is going to chose the next 10 appointees, it is likely going to be from around the north,” he said.
Who is Mohammad Nami?
Nami was reported to have started his career in 1993 with PFK, he was also reported to be serving on some companies’ Boards and Statutory Board Audit Committees but none was listed.
With little or no recorded outstanding career achievements, Nami’s made his debut when he was appointed as a member of the three-man Presidential Committee on Audit of Recovered Stolen Assets in November 2017. His membership on the presidential committee seems to be the highlight of his career.
Till his appointment, Nami was running a business named Manam Professional Services. The Corporate Affairs Commission documents obtained by Roots TV revealed that the business name was registered in 2012. The sole proprietorship business was listed to render services relating to Accounting/ Auditing, Tax Consulting, and Management consultancy with a primary place of business initially in Kaduna but updated to Minna, Niger State.
Reacting to Nami’s CV, Tope Fausua is doubtful that Nami is the best man for the job. “Looking at the pedigree of Nami, you probably will dispel and say, where is this man coming from, had an office in Kaduna and all of that, will he be able to avail his mind to that kind of large function and role? “
Was Fowler Any Better?
Babatunde Fowler on the other hand before his appointment as the chairman of the tax agency in 2015, was the Chief Executive Officer of the Lagos Inland Revenue Service (LIRS). He expanded the Lagos tax base, which resulted in an increase in Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) from an average of N3.6 billion per month in January 2006 to an average of over N20.5 billion per month in 2014.
Fowler‘s single term was however shrouded in controversy with a shining resume, he fell short of expectations. Fowler was once accused of wielding a fake doctorate (from Irish International University) when he got into office, He was queried by the presidency for his inability to meet revenue target between 2015 and 2018, He was reportedly embroiled in a 6 billion naira tax fraud allegation against nine FIRS officials under investigation by the EFCC.
Reliving Fowler’s single tenure in office, Fasua highlights some other allegations:
“In the case of Fowler, one of the allegations against him is that he capitulated too much to political pressure and there were a lot of illegal recruitments…We heard that allegation that Fowler gave Osinbajo N90B for the elections, and because of that they were roasting Osinbajo, it is clear there seems to be a lacuna between the president and his vice…Some people have sown that distrust between them, and it is working. “
More:
–FIRS Denies N90B Fund to VP Osinbajo
–Will FIRS Boss Fowler Have His Tenure Extended?
–Buhari Queries FIRS over Poor Revenue Collection
On Fowler’s ‘show of shame’ when his letter, (seeking reappointment hours before his replacement was announced) surfaced, Fasua said it was a deliberate attempt to embarrass him:
“I was surprised by the letter coming in that late but it was because they deliberately left him hanging. Left his faith in hanging….deliberately, that was strategic as well, he probably should have read the handwriting on the wall.
So they left him hanging and he had to write that letter and then they leaked that letter to embarrass him and then they chucked him out.”
The FIRS leadership replacement is a cause of concern as some analysts noted that it was ironical that Fowler was quickly replaced by “someone less qualified while the Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Naval Staff and the EFCC Chairman can’t seem to be replaced long after their tenures expired.
