Nigeria’s New Tax Chief, Muhammad Nami, Assumes Office

Muhammad Nami

Nigeria’s New Tax Chief, Muhammad Nami Assumes Office

Nigeria’s new tax chief, Muhammad Nami, has assumed office at the Revenue House, the FIRS Headquarters on Thursday.

Nami met with the Management and Staff of the Service and assured them that he would work with them to achieve President Muhammadu Buhari’s aim of appointing him.

“I am overwhelmed by the reception by all of you despite the short notice. I hope that you will continue to give me this support as we work together to build capacity and raise the revenue for the country.  I assure you that we will work together to achieve President Muhammadu Buhari’s aim of appointing me”, he said.

In a message to the staff, Nami said he owed to God Almighty, his appointment to the position of the Executive Chairman of FIRS, noting that he was aware of the enormity of the responsibility before him.

“This task, as enormous as it is, requires masterstroke measures, resilience in policy implementation and foresight to evolve novel ideas. I shall spare no effort to summon the courage to actualise this task. Most times, success is borne out of the will to endure hardship such as tax drive entails”, he said.

He told the staff that respite has come to them especially to those who are hardworking and professional in their work.

“At this point, I want to enlist the support and cooperation of all staff in the task of lifting the economy of this country out of its present position. I want you to be rest assured that respite has come especially to the deserving hardworking and professionally competent members of the staff”, he added.

Abiodun Aina, who acted as the Executive Chairman until Nami was confirmed by Senate on Wednesday thanked the staff for cooperating with him to handover a peaceful and unified FIRS to the Executive Chairman.

“You can see the excitement on the faces of the staff and their eagerness to receive you. It shows the enthusiasm with which you are expected in FIRS. In the little time I held forth, I have seen that we have some little challenges with our mandate. This is the challenges that you have come provide solutions to. I pledge my loyalty and the loyalty of my colleagues and I believe that we are going to work together to achieve the mandate of the Service”, Aina told Nami.

In the message to staff, Nami said: “All praises and adoration are due to the Almighty God, the One who exalts whomever He wills, the Maker of kings, the Provider of sustenance. This auspicious moment of my life is not my making, He has designed it to be. It is not by my strength or claim to any modicum of knowledge. It is His Wisdom. It is not also an accident. It is His will.

As I assume the mantle of leadership of this reputable organisation, I want to say that I am very much aware of the enormity of the responsibility entrusted to me by fate and those who have confidence in my capacity to discharge it. I am equally aware that for too long, Nigeria’s economy has been in dire straits with attendant socio-economic challenges. It is as a result of these challenges that the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has been making strident efforts towards putting the economy back on the track. Part of these efforts is the administration’s attempt towards making tax revenue generation and collection the cornerstone of its economic recovery efforts. I therefore understand that my mandate is to facilitate the administration’s economic recovery drive through increased tax revenue generation by opening up new potential revenue sources.

This task, as enormous as it is, requires resilience in policy implementation and foresight to evolve novel ideas. I shall spare no effort to summon the courage to actualise this task. Most times, success is borne out of the will to endure hardship such as tax drive entails. I dare to say that nowhere in the world is success a product of complacency, prevarication, sentiment and whimsical armchair criticism. Success is not a function of being visible on the social media platforms, or being ungainly garrulous. Success is a function of teamwork and circumspection. There is no doubt that the appropriation of cutting-edge technology in the service of revenue collection and tax administration is key to enhancing revenue generation. I want to assure you that I shall endeavour to improve on what we currently have in operation.

At this point, I want to enlist the support and cooperation of all staff in the task of lifting the economy of this country out of its present position. I want you to be rest assured that respite has come especially to the deserving hardworking and professionally competent members of staff. I want to implore you all to give me your maximum cooperation, support and understanding by being committed and devoted to your duties so that together, we shall succeed. Let me say, without sounding too optimistic, that with the cooperation of all and sundry as well as the determination that I have, I am very positive that we shall surely succeed”, he said.