President Buhari appoints Nami as new chairman of FIRS

President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Muhammad M. Nami, as the new Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). FIRS is responsible for assessing, collecting and accounting for tax and other revenue accruing to the Federal Government of Nigeria. According to the FIRS Establishment Act 2007, the President shall appoint the executive chairman subject to the approval of the Senate. Furthermore, the chairman and other board members shall each hold office for a term of four years, renewable once. In recognition of Babatunde Fowler’s success in tax reforms as the Executive Chairman of Lagos State IRS, President Buhari appointed Fowler as the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service on 18 August 2015. Fowler is a seasoned tax administrator with relevant experience and professional qualifications. Despite the economic recession, Fowler mobilized the FIRS workforce to collect N3.3 trillion (2016), N4.03 trillion (2017), and N5.3 trillion (2018).  Other achievements include over 800,000 new registered (corporate) taxpayers, the launch of an integrated tax administration system, and a 40% increase in the number of taxpayers within 12 months. He also served as the Chairman of the Joint Tax Board and African Tax Administration Forum. His tenure as FIRS boss expired on 8 December 2019 hence the new selection.

 

Muhammad N. Nami is an expert in Tax, Accounting & Management with relevant experience and qualifications. A brief profile shows that Nami –

  • attended Bayero University Kano and Ahmadu Bello University Zaria where he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology (1991) and a Masters in Business Adminstration (2004) respectively.
  • is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria, Institute of Debt Recovery Practitioners of Nigeria and an associate of Nigerian Institute of Management (Chartered) and Association of National Accountants.
  • has almost three decades of practical working experience in Auditing, Tax Advisory and Management services to clients in different sectors. He started his career with PFK in 1993 and rose to the position of a Senior Consultant in charge of Tax unit.
  • an expert in advisory services to new and existing businesses. He has also provided guidance to clients in trading, service and manufacturing sectors in Nigeria.
  • was appointed in November 2017 as a member of the Presidential Committee on Audit of Recovered Stolen Assets.
  • is the managing consultant of Manam Professional Services (Chartered Tax Practitioners and Business Advisers) based in Kaduna, Abuja, and Niger State. Nami is a member of the Board of directors and Audit Committee in many organizations.

 

 

The appointment of a new Executive Chairman, as well as board members, is pending approval with the Senate. In the interim, Fowler has handed over to Abiodun Aina, a senior director at FIRS. It is expected that Nami will take FIRS in the “upward-right” direction during his tenure.

 

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