Opinion

Among AVID members, Jean Pillard presented a heartwarming speech that resonated and spoke to the minds of many Igbos who found themselves as Haitians, who were sold to European slave traders, who changed their culture and way of life. However, despite the inhuman treatment, yet, they were resilient enough to resist the tyranny of the French Army led by Napoleon Bonaparte. In his speech, he preached hope for Igbos who have nationalized in Haiti to pull their resources together to stand as a force to be reckoned with. In his words, Ambassador Pillard wrote: "Excellency, His Royal Highness, distinguished traditional…

By Andrew Okonkwo Anybody who knew the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) before the advent of the administration of Muhammad Nami would in all fairness concede that he has remarkably used his salient administrative skills to improve the operations of the apex tax body. His dexterity in achieving an upward swing in revenue generation has much to do with his administrative skills than the deployment of technology. To understand the road Nami traveled before arriving at this destination,  there is a need to look back at the state of affairs in the  Service before he happened. It will not be…

By D. A. Okwadike The truth, especially when it is physically visible or phenomenal, can not hide or be hidden from the people, no matter how hard we try. I feel safe to say that since the current nascent democratic dispensation, dating back to 1999, no lgbo born Senator or HoR member has done as much work of development in his or her constituency as H E, Sen, Dr Orji Uzor Kalu, MON has done. The impact is felt across the Abia North Senatorial zone of Abia state. I really do not care about what his detractors or political opponents…

By Salisu Na'inna Dambatta It is akin to a revolution: welcome to the big paradigm shift in Nigeria's tax collection. The shift is from consistently low, inadequate and below targeted tax collection to a record-setting collection of N10.1 trillion in 2022. And the trend of raking in more revenue to finance people-oriented projects continues. Since his appointment as the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) on 9th December, 2019, the country has witnessed and benefitted from his expertise in tax matters. This is unsurprising given his professional and career pedigree. As immediate past Chairman of the African…

By Dapo Okubanjo For any one who has paid more than a passing attention to the activities of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) in the last four years, the agency's tax collection receipt in the first six months of 2023 would certainly not be surprising. This is because the FIRS under the leadership of Muhammad Nami has been constant in scaling new heights. But even at that, a N5.5 trillion total tax revenue collection between January and June this year is not a mean feat especially as this was more than the N4.95trillion the FIRS collected in the entire…

By Femi Onakanren In January 2023, the FIRS announced a landmark tax revenue return of N10.1trn in both oil (N4.09trn) and non-oil (N5.96trn) for 2022. Although the agency had an ambitious target of N10.44trn for the year 2022, to go past the N10trn mark is truly a historic development. To truly appreciate the importance of this development, this is double the N5.007trn recorded in 2012. Incidentally, the N5.007trn recorded in 2012 was the highest at the time. Two weeks ago, the tax authority announced that in just half of the year 2023 it had raked in N5.5 trillion Naira. This…

By Salisu Na'inna Dambatta It is common truth that no country on earth, including Nigeria, is able to tax all the taxables, or even bring all the untaxed into the tax net. Tax registers everywhere rarely contain all the untaxed as required by the tax laws. Even though the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) which last tax year (2022) celebrated a record N10.1 trillion tax collection for the federation, the country wants it to generate more than that amount of money in 2023. It is a positively achievable ambition by the top tax man, Muhammadu Nami, who turbo-charged the tax gathering…

Though it’s too early to start appraising the newly inaugurated members of the 8th Abia State House of Assembly, there is need to give kudos to the Member Representing the good people of Obingwa West State Constituency, Hon. Erondu Uchenna Erondu Jnr, for his good start at the plenary of the House recently. While his fellow first timers in the House are still dusting their seats for the tasks ahead for the next four years, Hon. Erondu Uchenna Erondu Jnr, has moved the first motion of the 8th Abia House of Assembly, Calling on the Federal Government to suspend the…

By Rachel Jantiku It is common knowledge that taxation plays a vital role in the economic development of every country whether developed, developing or under developed, and Nigeria is no exception. Government at all levels depends on the tax it collects to run the affairs of the State and it is the duty of every taxable citizen to contribute their quota to this effect. Without taxes, there can be no country. According to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999: Section 24 (f) of 1999 Constitution (as amended) it states that “it shall be the duty of every…

After an unexpectedly sluggish start (it took him longer than usual to appoint his spokesperson, which conduced to the luxuriant flowering of avoidable rumours and disinformation), President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is finally decisively stamping his authority on the Nigerian political space with a frenetic blizzard of appointments and disengagements of the personnel of government. Both supporters and opponents of the president appear flushed with fervour by the ongoing whirlwind of firing and hiring. It has even infused a new lease of life to the notoriously lethargic Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), which has emerged as one of the most reliable sources…