President Muhammadu Buhari has nominated a member of the Presidential Committee on Audit of Recovered Stolen Assets, Muhammad M. Nami, as the new Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). He will replace Babatunde Fowler, who became FIRS boss on August 20, 2015, after leading the tax reform in Lagos.
Nairametrics had previously reported that Fowler was expected to hand over to the most senior director at FIRS, Abiodun Aina, after the expiration of his tenure ended on December 8, 2019. The director will take charge, pending the confirmation of Nami and the new board by the senate.
According to the FIRS Establishment Act, the executive chairman shall be appointed by the President subject to the confirmation of the Senate. The chairman and other members of the board, other than ex-officio members, shall each hold office for a term of four years, renewable only once.
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Who is Muhammad M. Nami: The appointment of Nami was announced by Spokesperson to the President, Garba Shehu, on his official Twitter account, @GarShehu. According to Shehu, Nami is:
- A well-trained Tax, Accounting & Management professional with highly rated qualifications and professional practice and licenses from relevant professional bodies.
- Nami has almost three decades of practical working experience in Auditing, Tax Management and Advisory and Management services to clients in the banking, manufacturing, services and public sectors as well as non- profit organizations.
- He is an expert in rendering advisory support services to investors in respect of new business start-ups and management of existing businesses. He has also continuously rendered outsourced services to clients in trading, service and manufacturing sectors of the nation’s economy.
- Nami attended Bayero University Kano and Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria where he obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology (1991) and a Masters of Business degree (2004) respectively.
- He 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.
- Nami started his career with PFK in 1993 and rose to the position of a Senior Consultant in charge of Tax management and advisory services.
- He is currently the managing consultant of Manam Professional Services (Chartered Tax Practitioners and Business Advisers) based in Kaduna, Abuja, Niger State. Nami has served and is still serving, on many companies’ Board and Statutory Board Audit Committees.
- Nami was appointed a member, Presidential Committee on Audit of Recovered Stolen Assets in November 2017 by President Buhari.
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Before Fowler’s appointment, he was the Chief Executive Officer of the Lagos Inland Revenue Service (LIRS) where he served under the then governor of the state, Babatunde Fashola. The tax administrator spearheaded the Lagos tax reform agenda. 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.
Shehu further stated that “President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the composition of a new board for the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, subject to Senate confirmation. The board is composed of a member representing each of the six geographical zones and statutory representatives from a select number of ministries and government agencies.”