Since the announcement of his appointment yesterday as Executive Chairman (acting) of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) yesterday, renowned US-trained tax consultant Babatunde Fowler has been subjected to a retinue of malicious reports and attacks in several online media outlets in Nigeria. It is commendable to a great extent that under this dispensation of change all appointments into public office are scrutinized by citizens and objections raised when appropriate.
In this case however, much has been made of an apparently erroneous reference to an Honorary Doctorate on the profile of Babatunde Fowler that his antagonists would make you believe was deliberately planted by the Lagos tax reformer just to tarnish his image. One of such reports made by the highly respected US-based Farooq Kperogi pointed out that the Irish International University, referenced to have given Tunde Fowler an Honorary Doctorate Degree, has been de-listed in the United Kingdom. However, he went further to question all other academic qualifications of the former LIRS boss in a way that raises a few suspicions.
Babatunde Fowler is a Nigerian. Nigerians are well known for their many successes in Africa and beyond. In this regard he is not unusual. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, home of the War hawks, as an Economist with a foot in Political Science. He is forever a Toros and an Eagle, with another Bachelor’s Degree from California State University and an MBA from California State University-Dominguez Hill. Again, these accomplishments are not unusual for a Nigerian.
He joined the Lagos State Government in 2005 as the first Permanent Secretary and Executive Chairman of the Board of Internal Revenue, having served in the banking industry for 20 years. Still in the not-so-unusual manner, he, 2006 through 2014, increased monthly-generated revenue from N3.6 billion to N20.5 billion. This he did through restructured service delivery, targeted enlightenment campaign on taxation and administration in Nigeria and through Africa.
It started, in 2006, by removing impediments in tax payment, making tax assessment and payment easier for taxpayers by establishing mini-tax offices in markets around the state. Two years later, LIRS introduced the Self Assessment Filing System for individuals outside the formal sector. This has since ensured that individuals could conveniently pay their taxes at any of the 1,200 branches of the designated banks as well as the LIRS tax stations and receive their receipts within 72 hours of payment.
These are electronically linked to databases that issue electronic receipts to tax payers. The LIRS also introduced personal electronic tax clearance cards (e-TCC), the first of its type in the country. The opaqueness that characterized tax collection in the past was banished, as the process was made more open to taxpayers, who can now access their records via the Internet.
The results have been astounding. Between 2008 and 2012, the average monthly IGR of the state leapt from N18.9 billion to N29.9billion, a fact attested to by former Governor Babatunde Fashola during the 2012 Annual Public Lecture of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, ICAN. Lagos State IGR has also accounted for over 65 per cent of government revenue, making the state less dependent on proceeds from the Federation Account.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics released last December, shows Lagos State generated more revenue than any other state of the federation between 2010 and 2012. FromN185.9 billion in 2010, to N202.76 billion in 2011 and N219.2 billion in 2012. A breakdown of the 2012 figure shows that out of the N219.2 billion, Lagos realised the highest revenue ofN172.44 billion from through PAYE. A total of N4.36 billion came from road taxes, N1.89 billion from direct assessment of companies domiciled in the state, while N40.513 billion came from other revenue sources.
A Fellow of both the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria, and Business Management Association (UK), BabatundeFowler’s appointment as FIRS boss is a painstakingly thorough process that cannot be undone by an unfortunate Honorary Degree that wasn’t of his own making. In this dispensation of Change, Nigeria needs tangible, credible and measurable works of excellence. An organization such as the FIRS can only benefit greatly from such expertise and experience as abide in Babatunde Fowler. Nigeria and Nigerians will measure immense gains were a 564% increase in the generated revenue as achieved by BWF in Lagos State, be replicated on the National scale.
