FIRS Nigeria: ‘Tunde Fowler was Wasteful and Arrogant’

FIRS Nigeria: ‘Tunde Fowler was Wasteful and Arrogant’

FIRS Nigeria: ‘Tunde Fowler was Wasteful and Arrogant’

Reasons have emerged from credible and insider sources as to why President Muhammadu Buhari sacked Tunde Fowler as the Executive Chairman of Nigeria’s apex revenue body, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) on Monday.

“Babatunde Fowler is wasteful and arrogant. And he did not perform the way he was expected to perform” an insider source said.

Our source also said that Fowler showed high-ranked desperation to get reappointed.

“He fought desperately up to the last minute to get reappointment. But his fate had already been decided before August when he was supposed to hand over. To avoid any legal issues, the President allowed him to occupy the office till the date the Senate confirmed him.

“To pull wool over people’s eyes, he kept dishing out propaganda on what he claimed to have achieved. But he forgot that people have been watching him from the day he resumed as the Executive Chairman of FIRS. Those propaganda showed more of how desperate he was to remain in that position.

This source expressed optimism that Alhaji Muhammad Nami, who has been appointed to replace Fowler will do a good job.

“Muhammad Nami comes highly recommended. And he is coming with a board. Fowler did not have a board he worked with. The expectation is that Nami will do a better job than Fowler.

Another source told our reporter that President Buhari resented wasteful life style and added that Fowler was too full of himself as the FIRS helmsman.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday appointed Nami to replace Fowler as chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). Fowler’s tenure expired on Sunday.

According to Garba Shehu President Buhari’s Spokesman, the president nominated a renowned tax consultant, Muhammad M. Nami as the new chairman.

The statement by the Presidency said Fowler is expected to hand over to the most senior director on the board, who will take charge, pending the senate confirmation of the new board.

Muhammad M. Nami’s nomination was conveyed in a letter Buhari sent to the Senate, on the composition of a new board for the revenue agency.

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.

Mr Muhammad Nami, according to the statement by Aso Rock, is “a well-trained Tax, Accounting and Management professional with highly rated qualifications and professional practice and licenses from relevant professional bodies”.

 He 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 organisations.

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.

He 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. Mr Muhammad has served, and is still serving, on many companies’ Board and Statutory Board Audit Committees.

He was appointed as a member, Presidential Committee on Audit of Recovered Stolen Assets in November, 2017 by President Buhari. He is married and has children