-Kabiru Mashi Steps-in as Acting Chair
The golden era of reforms and improved revenue drive at Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service entered a new phase on Thursday as the chairperson, Mrs. Ifueko Omoigui-Okaru, formerly ended her term in office after eight years at the agency.
A protem chairman has been appointed in the person of Mr. Kabiru Mashi.
The assistant director of media and liason at the powerful service, Mr. Wahab Gbadamosi, told sharpedgenews.com that Mrs. Omoigui-Okaru exit “is not a resignation” as reported by some online and conventional news outlets.
Mr. Gbadamosi said that the chairman did not resign, but has just ended her mandatory second term of office, which cannot be renewed, according to the new FIRS Act. Accordingly, she ended her tenure at the agency on Thursday by holding a valedictory session with senior management officers of the service before proceeding to the Presidential Villa in Abuja where she met with President Goodluck Jonathan.
Ifueko Omoigui-Okaru leaves the helms of the FIRS after a distinguished period. Only two weeks ago, she helped to further strengthen government tax policy in Nigeria with the commencement of the implementation of the Personal Income Tax Amendment Act 2011, which amended the Personal Income Tax Act of 2004.
She has led institutional changes in the FIRS and the Joint Tax Board, leading to the gradual emergence— in perception and reality—of the FIRS as a modern institution. Today, a corporate taxpayer can no longer open a file in say, Apapa or Ikeja Integrated Tax Office, abandon it after failing to file his returns and pay his tax and lie to the Tax Controller at the Wuse Integrated Tax Office that the company has not done business with the company since it was registered. Just a click, on the mouse, or a tap on your ipad and seconds search of the FIRS portal will reveal such a corporate tax taxpayer’s status and records. This is courtesy of Project FACT and one of its products: the Taxpayer Identification Number, TIN.
Omoigui-Okaru led the push for the financial and administrative autonomy of the FIRS eventuating in financial and administrative autonomy of the Service with the implementation of the Federal Inland Revenue Service Establishment Act, FIRS Act 2007.She also drove the development and driving of institutional changes in the tax system at Federal and State levels leading to growth in annual tax revenues, amounting to over 15 billion US dollars (by 2009) to reduce dependence on mono product (oil) revenues; development and implementation of a Tax Reform agenda to improve the funding quality and effectiveness of tax administration in Nigeria.
She also facilitated the drafting of a comprehensive legal framework and the passage of four Acts namely: FIRS (Establishment) Act 2007, Value Added Tax (Amendment) Act 2007, Companies Income Tax (Amendment) Act 2007, National Automotive Council (Amendment) Act 2007. She is coordinating the implementation of a national tax database, including the Tax Identification Number, TIN. Four other bills-including the Petroleum Profits Tax Act-now being considered as part of the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB are before National Assembly.
FIRS has collaborated with several federal agencies to share data, just as it has signed and is negotiating several Double Taxation Agreements, DTAs with other countries.
Under her watch, FIRS collaborated with Uganda, South African and other African countries to establish the first, continental Tax body: African Tax Administration Forum, ATAF and her regional leg: the West African Tax Administration Forum, WATAF. This came on the heels of successful hosting of the Commonwealth Association of Tax Administrations, CATA.
These are outside a renewed Enforcement drive that in a year yielded as much as close to N37 billion.
Born on December 10, 1962, Omoigui Okauru attended Queen’s College, Yaba and Federal Government College, Warri for her secondary school education and obtained a First Class degree in Accounting from the University of Lagos and a Master’s of Science Degree in Management Science from the Imperial College, University of London. She was valedictorian of her graduating class in the University of Lagos, with the highest number of prizes ever won by any individual in the Faculty of Business Administration and was recognized as a Global Leader of Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Accountants of Nigeria, ICAN, and a Chartered Tax Practitioner.