“This year’s Eid event is an occasion for sober reflection rather than celebration because of the long shadows of gloom that the coronavirus has cast on people’s lives.” In his Sallah message to Nigerian Muslims in particular, and Nigerians in general, President Buhari advised Muslims to keep their spirits up in spite of the coronavirus pandemic, which caught the world off guard.
He said that he pandemic had put a damper on what would otherwise have been a time of celebration for the Muslim faithful to mark the end of the Ramadan fasting period.”
For the first time in recent years, the COVID-19 pandemic has taken a heavy toll on the people’s spiritual, social and economic lives. “This year’s fasting period was particularly challenging for Muslims because they had to forgo many important aspects of their daily worship, including the routine congregations for prayer and the recitation and interpretation of the Holy Qur’an as well as traveling for the lesser pilgrimage to Makkah. “It is not easy to give up many of these important duties and activities, but it became imperative to do so in order to control or limit the spread of this deadly disease.”Let me use this opportunity to commend the sacrifices of both Muslims and Christians for their cooperation in the enforcement of the social distancing guidelines.
I am well aware of the inconveniences these tough measures have brought on the lives of Nigerians, including limiting religious activities and gatherings in large numbers,” the President noted, adding that “No government would intentionally impose these tough and demanding measures on its citizens if it had a choice.
“President Buhari appealed to other Nigerians whose businesses and means of livelihoods were badly affected by the prolonged lockdown measures for their understanding and cooperation.
He assured Nigerians that the lockdown measures would not go on longer than necessary because they would be reviewed from time to time to ease the increasing hardships on the people.
He also exhorted people with means to continue helping their neighbours and the less well-to-do so that “we can all come out of this pandemic stronger and more united.”
He prayed to Allah to ease the hardship among the people as they struggle hard to flatten the curve, while wishing all Nigerians Eid Mubarak.
The Kogi State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has upheld the election of Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State.
The majority judgment, delivered today, May 23 by Justice Kashim Kaigama, upheld Yahaya Bello’s election on the grounds that the petitioners failed to prove allegations of rigging and other malpractices in the November 16, 2019 governorship election.
Justice Kaigama, accordingly, dismissed the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its governorship candidate, Engineer Musa Wada, with a cost of N500,000 each in favour of the respondents.
However, in a dissenting judgment, Justice Ohimai Obviagele held that there were evidence of massive fraud in seven local government areas and subsequently ordered for a rerun in the seven local government areas.
President Muhammadu Buhari has signed into law, an Executive Order number 10 of 2020 for the implementation of Financial Autonomy of State Legislature and StateJudiciary Order, 2020.
This is contained in a statement by Dr Umar Jibrilu Gwandu, Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations in the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and made available to newsmen in Abuja today, May 22.
The statement said that a Presidential Implementation Committee was constituted to fashion out strategies and modalities for the implementation of financial autonomy for the State Legislature and State Judiciary in compliance with section 121(3) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as Amended); taking intoconsiderations all other applicable laws, instruments, conventions and regulations, which provides for financial autonomy at the State tierof Government.
According to the statement, the implementation of financial autonomy of the State Legislature and State Judiciary will strengthen the institutions at the State tier of Government and make them more independent and accountable in line with the tenets of democracy asenshrined by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999(as Amended).
The President signed the Executive Order number 10 into law based on the power vested in him as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria under Section 5 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic ofNigeria 1999 (as Amended), which extends to the execution and maintenance of the Constitution, laws made by the National Assembly (including but not limited to Section 121(3) of the 1999 Constitution(as Amended), which guarantee financial autonomy of the StateLegislature and State Judiciary.
The Order Provides that “The Accountant-General of the Federation shall by this Order and such any other Orders, Regulations orGuidelines as may be issued by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, authorise the deduction from source in the course of Federation Accounts Allocation from the money allocated to any State of the Federation that fails to release allocation meant forthe State Legislature and State Judiciary in line with the financial autonomy guaranteed by Section 121(3) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as Amended)”.
Based on the Executive Order at the commencement of this Order for implementation of financial autonomy for State Legislature and State Judiciary in line with section 121(3) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as Amended), all States of the Federation shall include the allocations of the two Arms of Government in theirAppropriation Laws.
Article 6 (1) provides that “notwithstanding the provisions of thisExecutive Order, in the first three years of its implementation, thereshall be special extraordinary capital allocations for the Judiciaryto undertake capital development of State Judiciary Complexes, HighCourt Complexes, Sharia Court of Appeal, Customary Court of Appeal andCourt Complexes of other Courts befitting the status of a Courts.”
A None Governmental Organization (NGO), De Club 10 Nigeria, has commended President Muhammadu Buhari for the recent inauguration of Ajaokuta Presidential Project Implementation Committee (APPIC), which it described as the positive first major move to revive the long abandoned steel project.
The Club, in separate open letters, also congratulated Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State over the presidential move, which it said, had confirmed the efforts of the governor in the same direction.
The letters, signed by the group’s President, Alhaji Saidu Yusuf, recalled the long drawn politics that had dogged the Ajaokuta steel project, both locally and internationally, and expressed happiness that President Buhari had been able to “meandered through such political manoeuvres.”
De Club 10 suggested to the President, however, to consider including in the presidential committee, one or two persons from the local communities, such as Okene, Adavi, Ihina and others, “for better and effective representation.”
De Club 10, which said that it’s members had all along, remained committed to the revival of the Ajaokuta Steel project, the same way Governor Yahaya Bello had been, said: “it is quite imaginable and refreshing to be alive to witness the positive move by President Buhari to actualize the dream and prayer of ours, and that of communities, within and without
“We have no doubt that this national pride and great revenue source will take off and flourish before you honourably bow out after your glorious second tenure as “the doing president” of our time.
“We, as a Club, had been steadfast in support of the move by your Excellency and the government you head to move this country to positive next level, and are determined, with this move to revive Ajaokuta Steel complex, to even offer unqualified support to the government as time evolves.”
President Muhammadu Buhari has made it clear that he will not be receiving visitors on Sallah Homage during and after the Sunday Eid-el-Fitr, marking the end of the Muslim 30-day Fasting.
A statement today, May 22, by the presidential spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu, quoted Buhari as saying that the cancellation of the Sallah homage is to stem the spread of coronavirus.
“The President, who has traditionally shared the joyous moment with top government officials, political leaders, community heads, Muslim and Christian religious leaders and children, will not be receiving these homages in a bid to stop the coronavirus from further spreading.”
The statement said that President Buhari will be conducting his Eid prayers with his family at his villa residence.
“This is in observance of the lockdown measures in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, put in place to save lives and protect people from all dangers.
“This is also in line with the directive of the Sultan of Sokoto and President General of the Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI), Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III suspending Eid congregational prayers across the country as well as the protocol against mass gathering issued by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19.”
If one has not occupied a position of leadership, one would not fully understand the truism of William Shakespeare’s wise words: “uneasy lies the head that wears the crown”. But those who wear the crown know where it hurts. So it is with the leadership of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) at this inauspicious time. Three factors make the leadership of FIRS quite challenging, even if burdensome, at this time.
These are the onerous task of repositioning the Service and raising staff morale, meeting the revenue target amid a global economic lockdown, and having to deal with Janus-faced human nature. These factors combined to make the leadership of FIRS seems more like skating on thin ice, which is really a daunting task.
The task of repositioning the Service means setting it on the track of global best practices in terms of corporate governance and efficient service delivery. This consists of shuffling the staff and putting the right people in the right positions, building staff capacity, creating more vacancies and more offices, deploying cutting-edge technology to drive the processes, and ultimately reestablishing the Service again as a veritable corporate entity to reckon with among its peers in the World. Daunting as this task may seem, it also requires quantum speed to achieve it.
Towards achieving the repositioning goal, the Executive Chairman of FIRS, Mr. Mohammed Nami, put together a three-month framework of action as he assumed office in December, 2019. This initial three-month project, tagged Short-Term Goals, is one of the three broad strategies outlined to achieve total retooling of the Service towards increased tax revenue generation. Others are the Medium Term and the Long Term Goals. The Short Term Goals consists of eleven action points, which are: to hold a strategic corporate retreat to set target and unveil the corporate organogram of the Service; to put in place immediate mechanism to make activities of the Service technology driven; to make TCC processing easy henceforth ; to immediately re-position LTOs & MTOs; to henceforth make staff welfare and promotion a top priority; to re-position Audit & investigation units in order to achieve efficient performance; stop indiscriminate placement of lien on clients’ accounts; to take disciplinary action henceforth against staff who wittingly pocket tax revenue; to re-engineer business processes; to continue the payment of 13-16 months salaries as bonuses in order to motivate staff and achieve greater tax revenue collection; and to strictly enforce dress code as provided in the FIRS HRPP.
At the unveiling of these short-term goals members of staff at the FIRS applauded them as the long overdue changes they have all been looking forward to with bated breath. They enthusiastically acknowledged that the goals were spot on and the required quick fixes desperately needed to reposition the Service for efficient and effective administration and optimal tax revenue collection. Since the unveiling of the goals the management team at the FIRS ably led by Mr. Muhammad Nami, has applied itself to implementing them diligently every step of the way. In January, the transition management provided a month long window for quick and unfettered processing of TCCs for taxpayers to enable them compete for relevant jobs. This led to the processing and issuance of thousands of TCCs which hitherto was difficult. This was immediately followed with the lifting of lien on clients’ bank account with genuine cases. Thereafter a corporate retreat was held with resounding success. At the retreat were most of the former chairmen of the Service, and an array of stakeholders who applauded the ECFIRS for daring to hold the retreat seven years after the last one was held. A circular was issued to staff emphasizing the need to comply with the HRPP provision on corporate dressing and the penalty that goes with its violation.
Also, cutting-edge technological solutions have since been deployed to fast-track the processes involved in tax administration and revenue generation. Automation solutions have been put in place to ensure adequate remittance of Value Added Tax (VAT) and Stamp Duty in close coordination with relevant stakeholders. Staff redeployment and reorganization had been done meticulously, and members of staff are happier for it. The audit and investigation units have also been reinvigorated in the process of which about sixty eight new offices were created alongside new VAT offices.
All these steps are geared towards making the Service function optimally again as a corporate institution operated on veritable ethics rooted in probity, accountability, and propriety. These are best practices and values which aim to put the Service on the plinth of internationally accepted standards of corporate governance, which was thrown overboard hitherto, thereby turning the Service into a reeling ballroom. This feat was hard-won. It took a lot of planning, complex thinking, series of meetings and consultations, and hard decisions. Of course, this is what makes leadership burdensome, even more so if the leader’s good intentions and hard work are misconstrued or hardly appreciated.
Anyway, Mr. Nami’s action roadmap is a clear demonstration of the kind of quality and proactive leadership that is required now at the FIRS. He has unmistakably demonstrated a mature leadership disposition that sends unambiguous signal, which is that it will no longer be business as usual at the FIRS. This is yielding dividends in restored taxpayers’ confidence and trust in the system, among other ample results.
Mr. Nami has also put together a competent, dedicated, and strong-willed management team with national spread to help him steer the course of the Service in the direction of his vision. This includes the Group Lead, Digital Support Group, Mrs. Chiaka Okoye, who is from the South East is a member of the management team; the Coordinating Director, Tax Operations Group, Mr. Olufemi Oluwaniyi, from the South West is also a member of the management team; Acting Coordinating Director, ECFIRS Group, Dr Asheikh Maidugu, from the North East is a member of the management team; Acting Coordinating Director, Support Services Group, Mr. Innocent Ohagwa, from the South East is a member of the management team; Acting Coordinating Director, Compliance Support Group, Mr. Ezra Zubairu from the North West is a member of the management team; and Group Lead, Enforcement Support Group, Mrs. Faosat Oguniyi from the South West also a member of the management team. Under Mr. Nami’s Administration at the FIRS, Nneka Ifekwuna from the South East was appointed the Board Secretary while Mr Kola Okunola from the South West and Mallam Auta Mohammed from the North West have been retained as Special Assistants on ICT and Administration respectively.
However, just when the management team under the leadership of Mr. Muhammad Nami seems to be gaining momentum and getting things right, the Covid-19 pandemic seized the world and shattered the global economy like the thin ice under the heavy foot falls of a skater. The economic shutdown is unprecedented in Nigeria’s, even global, history. Nevertheless, in the midst of this pandemic, the FIRS henchman is still expected to deliver on his mandate, which is to raise money for government to continue to meet its statutory obligations to the Nigerian people. Without gainsaying, this pandemic has really compounded matters for the leadership at the FIRS. Businesses have virtually screeched to a stop nationwide and globally. There is a global oil glut as buyers have disappeared taking with them the expected oil revenue for the country. Expected revenue from the non-oil sector has also dipped alongside the drastic drop in business and economic activities.
Despite this bleak economic outlook, the revenue deliverable benchmark for the FIRS remains at the pre-pandemic target of N8.5 trillion. Never mind that the Service was compelled by the current business realities to provide strategic tax palliatives to taxpayers. Yet, even at that, many continue to call on the FIRS to do more while retaining their expectation that the FIRS will still perform magic by raking in its targeted revenue to fund the 2020 Budget and rescue the economy from a downward slide. As irksome as this sounds, it is a further demonstration of the burdensome nature of leadership wherefore everyone drags you in the mud and expects you to still look spruced.
Yet, despite the pandemic and its economic consequences, the FIRS management ably led by Mr. Nami was able to post an impressive Q1 performance by achieving an increment of 15% over the corresponding period in 2019 to the delight of all. This is a clear indication that the eggheads at the FIRS are up to the herculean task before them. But just as the management team at FIRS is getting on with the onerous task ahead, Janus-faced human nature is poised to further make the matter insufferable for the crack team. A Janus-faced is intractable, never showing its true colour- whether a friend or a foe. Like a chameleon, it is a friend today and a foe tomorrow. Verily, Shakespeare reminds us that “there is no art to find the mind’s construction in the face”. That’s why the Janus-faced often gets away with its inveigle personality.
This time the Janus-faced is pushing for a census to determine which ethnic group populates the FIRS more than the others. And were this to be so it would be obvious which has the upper hand. But such cheap blackmailer will not distract the focused management team at the FIRS from pursuing its proactive policies in the best interest of the Service and the country. If anything, the time it would take to deal with such a deceptive constrictor will be an added weight to the burden of leadership for which the positively focused minds at the FIRS can not afford to luxuriate in.
Abdullahi Ismaila Ahmad Is the Director of Communications at Federal Inland Revenue Service.
No fewer than 99 passengers and eight member crew are feared dead in a Pakistan International Airlines plane crash which occurred today, May 22, in Karachi on a flight from Lahore.
Aviation officials said today that the plane was flying from Lahore to Jinnah International Airport, one of Pakistan’s busiest airports.
Pictures shared on social media show smoke rising from the crash site, a residential area in Karachi.
Emergency services have arrived at the scene, where homes have been damaged.
“The plane crashed in Karachi. We are trying to confirm the number of passengers but initially it is 99 passengers and eight crew members,” said Abdul Sattar Khokhar, the spokesman for Pakistan’s aviation authority.
The crash came just days after the country began allowing commercial flights to resume.
Pakistan has a chequered aviation safety record, including a number of airliner crashes.
In 2010, an aircraft operated by private airline Airblue crashed near Islamabad, killing all 152 people on board – the deadliest air disaster in Pakistani history.
In 2012, a Boeing 737-200 operated by Pakistan’s Bhoja Air crashed in bad weather on its approach to land in Rawalpindi, killing all 121 passengers and six crew.
And in 2016, a Pakistan International Airlines plane burst into flames while travelling from northern Pakistan to Islamabad, killing 47 people.
The Federal Government of Nigeria has declared Monday 25 and Tuesday 26 May, as Public Holidays to mark this year’s Eid-el-Fitr celebration.
The Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, who made the declaration on behalf of the Federal Government, congratulated all Muslim faithful for the successful completion of the Ramadan fast.
Aregbesola called on them to replicate the life of kindness, love, tolerance, peace and good neighbourliness, as exemplified by the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon Him), even as he expressed concern over the spate of ethnic conflicts that have resurfaced in some parts of Northern Nigeria in recent times.
He advised Nigerians to see themselves as a single entity and therefore learn to tolerate one another despite ethnic and religious differences.
Ogbeni Aregbesola assured Nigerians that the Administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is fully committed to battling the scourge of coronavirus with the cooperation of all Nigerians.
While commending the security agencies for the successes so far recorded in the fight against the Boko Haram insurgency in the North East, he advised Nigerians to take responsibility against the spread of coronavirus pandemic and also stay safe by observing physical and social distancing, personal and respiratory hygiene, as well as other regulations issued by relevant authorities.
As part of his admonition to Muslims on the celebration of Eid-el-Fitr and his emphasis on individual responsibility for adherence to coronavirus guidelines and regulations, the Minister reminded them to always obey constituted authorities as stated in the Glorious Qu’ran 4:59 where Allah says: “O ye who believe! Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger, and those charged with authority among you. If ye differ in anything among yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger, if ye do believe in Allah and the Last Day: That is best, and most suitable for final determination.”
Report reaching us in Greenbarge Reporters indicates that this year’s small Sallah (Eid-el-Fitr), may be observed on Sunday, May 24, making the Muslim Fasting period to be 30 days.
According to the Saudi Arabia’s Astronomical calculations released today, May 21, there is no possibility of sighting the crescent of the moon of Shawwal in the evening of Friday, May 22, equivalent to Ramadan 29.
The calculations, according to the report, showed that moon will set before sun on Friday and hence Eid Al-Fitr would be on Sunday, May 24, after completing 30 days of fasting.
Astronomers at the observatory of Majmaah University near Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, said: “according to the scientific calculations that were published on the astronomical observatory site, sun will set at 6:39 pm at 293 degrees, and the moon will set at 6:26 pm Friday, Ramadan 29, and this means the setting of the moon happens 13 minutes before sunset.“On Saturday, Ramadan 30, corresponding to May 23, the sun will set at 6:40 pm at 239 degrees, and the crescent moon will set at 7:23 at 293 degrees, meaning that the crescent will stay on for 43 minutes after sunset at an altitude of 8.84 and elongation of 10.60.”
This was even as a rofessor of climate at the Department of Geography of Al-Qassim University, and founder and head of the committee for naming climatic conditions, Dr. Abdullah Al-Mosnad, emphasized that the crescent moon will set on Friday about 10 minutes before sun in Makkah and therefore Eid will be on Sunday after completion of 30 days of Ramadan.
Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi has banned movement of cattle in the state capital, Abakaliki and its environs with immediate effect, describing cattle roaming the streets as embarrassing.
Umahi, who announced this during a statewide broadcast today, May 20, said that he had directed the state Attorney- General facilitate legal process for auctioning of cows seen within the areas.
“I have told relevant security agencies in the state that I will no longer tolerate the presence of cows within the centenary city and its environs such as the international market and new shopping mall among others.
“It is an insult for me to be struggling to enter the Government House with cows on the road.”
The governor said that the state government would not allow movement of the Quranic education pupils (Almajiris) to the state.
“We will not allow Almajiris in Ebonyi and we have to tell ourselves the truth as a people.”
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A None Governmental Organization (NGO), De Club 10 Nigeria, has commended President Muhammadu Buhari for the recent inauguration of Ajaokuta Presidential Project Implementation Committee (APPIC), which it described as the positive first major move to revive the long abandoned steel project.
Burden Of Leadership At Federal Inland Revenue Service, By Abdullahi Ismaila Ahmad
If one has not occupied a position of leadership, one would not fully understand the truism of William Shakespeare’s wise words: “uneasy lies the head that wears the crown”. But those who wear the crown know where it hurts. So it is with the leadership of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) at this inauspicious time. Three factors make the leadership of FIRS quite challenging, even if burdensome, at this time.
These are the onerous task of repositioning the Service and raising staff morale, meeting the revenue target amid a global economic lockdown, and having to deal with Janus-faced human nature. These factors combined to make the leadership of FIRS seems more like skating on thin ice, which is really a daunting task.
The task of repositioning the Service means setting it on the track of global best practices in terms of corporate governance and efficient service delivery. This consists of shuffling the staff and putting the right people in the right positions, building staff capacity, creating more vacancies and more offices, deploying cutting-edge technology to drive the processes, and ultimately reestablishing the Service again as a veritable corporate entity to reckon with among its peers in the World. Daunting as this task may seem, it also requires quantum speed to achieve it.
Towards achieving the repositioning goal, the Executive Chairman of FIRS, Mr. Mohammed Nami, put together a three-month framework of action as he assumed office in December, 2019. This initial three-month project, tagged Short-Term Goals, is one of the three broad strategies outlined to achieve total retooling of the Service towards increased tax revenue generation. Others are the Medium Term and the Long Term Goals. The Short Term Goals consists of eleven action points, which are: to hold a strategic corporate retreat to set target and unveil the corporate organogram of the Service; to put in place immediate mechanism to make activities of the Service technology driven; to make TCC processing easy henceforth ; to immediately re-position LTOs & MTOs; to henceforth make staff welfare and promotion a top priority; to re-position Audit & investigation units in order to achieve efficient performance; stop indiscriminate placement of lien on clients’ accounts; to take disciplinary action henceforth against staff who wittingly pocket tax revenue; to re-engineer business processes; to continue the payment of 13-16 months salaries as bonuses in order to motivate staff and achieve greater tax revenue collection; and to strictly enforce dress code as provided in the FIRS HRPP.
At the unveiling of these short-term goals members of staff at the FIRS applauded them as the long overdue changes they have all been looking forward to with bated breath. They enthusiastically acknowledged that the goals were spot on and the required quick fixes desperately needed to reposition the Service for efficient and effective administration and optimal tax revenue collection. Since the unveiling of the goals the management team at the FIRS ably led by Mr. Muhammad Nami, has applied itself to implementing them diligently every step of the way. In January, the transition management provided a month long window for quick and unfettered processing of TCCs for taxpayers to enable them compete for relevant jobs. This led to the processing and issuance of thousands of TCCs which hitherto was difficult. This was immediately followed with the lifting of lien on clients’ bank account with genuine cases. Thereafter a corporate retreat was held with resounding success. At the retreat were most of the former chairmen of the Service, and an array of stakeholders who applauded the ECFIRS for daring to hold the retreat seven years after the last one was held. A circular was issued to staff emphasizing the need to comply with the HRPP provision on corporate dressing and the penalty that goes with its violation.
Also, cutting-edge technological solutions have since been deployed to fast-track the processes involved in tax administration and revenue generation. Automation solutions have been put in place to ensure adequate remittance of Value Added Tax (VAT) and Stamp Duty in close coordination with relevant stakeholders. Staff redeployment and reorganization had been done meticulously, and members of staff are happier for it. The audit and investigation units have also been reinvigorated in the process of which about sixty eight new offices were created alongside new VAT offices.
All these steps are geared towards making the Service function optimally again as a corporate institution operated on veritable ethics rooted in probity, accountability, and propriety. These are best practices and values which aim to put the Service on the plinth of internationally accepted standards of corporate governance, which was thrown overboard hitherto, thereby turning the Service into a reeling ballroom. This feat was hard-won. It took a lot of planning, complex thinking, series of meetings and consultations, and hard decisions. Of course, this is what makes leadership burdensome, even more so if the leader’s good intentions and hard work are misconstrued or hardly appreciated.
Anyway, Mr. Nami’s action roadmap is a clear demonstration of the kind of quality and proactive leadership that is required now at the FIRS. He has unmistakably demonstrated a mature leadership disposition that sends unambiguous signal, which is that it will no longer be business as usual at the FIRS. This is yielding dividends in restored taxpayers’ confidence and trust in the system, among other ample results.
Mr. Nami has also put together a competent, dedicated, and strong-willed management team with national spread to help him steer the course of the Service in the direction of his vision. This includes the Group Lead, Digital Support Group, Mrs. Chiaka Okoye, who is from the South East is a member of the management team; the Coordinating Director, Tax Operations Group, Mr. Olufemi Oluwaniyi, from the South West is also a member of the management team; Acting Coordinating Director, ECFIRS Group, Dr Asheikh Maidugu, from the North East is a member of the management team; Acting Coordinating Director, Support Services Group, Mr. Innocent Ohagwa, from the South East is a member of the management team; Acting Coordinating Director, Compliance Support Group, Mr. Ezra Zubairu from the North West is a member of the management team; and Group Lead, Enforcement Support Group, Mrs. Faosat Oguniyi from the South West also a member of the management team. Under Mr. Nami’s Administration at the FIRS, Nneka Ifekwuna from the South East was appointed the Board Secretary while Mr Kola Okunola from the South West and Mallam Auta Mohammed from the North West have been retained as Special Assistants on ICT and Administration respectively.
However, just when the management team under the leadership of Mr. Muhammad Nami seems to be gaining momentum and getting things right, the Covid-19 pandemic seized the world and shattered the global economy like the thin ice under the heavy foot falls of a skater. The economic shutdown is unprecedented in Nigeria’s, even global, history. Nevertheless, in the midst of this pandemic, the FIRS henchman is still expected to deliver on his mandate, which is to raise money for government to continue to meet its statutory obligations to the Nigerian people. Without gainsaying, this pandemic has really compounded matters for the leadership at the FIRS. Businesses have virtually screeched to a stop nationwide and globally. There is a global oil glut as buyers have disappeared taking with them the expected oil revenue for the country. Expected revenue from the non-oil sector has also dipped alongside the drastic drop in business and economic activities.
Despite this bleak economic outlook, the revenue deliverable benchmark for the FIRS remains at the pre-pandemic target of N8.5 trillion. Never mind that the Service was compelled by the current business realities to provide strategic tax palliatives to taxpayers. Yet, even at that, many continue to call on the FIRS to do more while retaining their expectation that the FIRS will still perform magic by raking in its targeted revenue to fund the 2020 Budget and rescue the economy from a downward slide. As irksome as this sounds, it is a further demonstration of the burdensome nature of leadership wherefore everyone drags you in the mud and expects you to still look spruced.
Yet, despite the pandemic and its economic consequences, the FIRS management ably led by Mr. Nami was able to post an impressive Q1 performance by achieving an increment of 15% over the corresponding period in 2019 to the delight of all. This is a clear indication that the eggheads at the FIRS are up to the herculean task before them. But just as the management team at FIRS is getting on with the onerous task ahead, Janus-faced human nature is poised to further make the matter insufferable for the crack team. A Janus-faced is intractable, never showing its true colour- whether a friend or a foe. Like a chameleon, it is a friend today and a foe tomorrow. Verily, Shakespeare reminds us that “there is no art to find the mind’s construction in the face”. That’s why the Janus-faced often gets away with its inveigle personality.
This time the Janus-faced is pushing for a census to determine which ethnic group populates the FIRS more than the others. And were this to be so it would be obvious which has the upper hand. But such cheap blackmailer will not distract the focused management team at the FIRS from pursuing its proactive policies in the best interest of the Service and the country. If anything, the time it would take to deal with such a deceptive constrictor will be an added weight to the burden of leadership for which the positively focused minds at the FIRS can not afford to luxuriate in.
Abdullahi Ismaila Ahmad Is the Director of Communications at Federal Inland Revenue Service.