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As former President Buhari began to make his early appointment, there was widespread outcry of “Northernisation” as 85% of the political appointments were northerners. Former president Buhari response was that while he would honor the constitutional requirement to appoint his ministers from across the country, people who will closely with me would be appointed based on their loyalty and trustworthiness not their ethnicity. The question that was never answered was that why was it that people from other ethnic groups were not loyal and trustworthy enough to join his inner circle, be his close confidant? Citing George Orwell in his…

Female Empowerment In Politics, By Hon. Prof. Merit Rose N.S.O (The Untouchable) Let me start by defining Empowerment. EMPOWERMENT is the degree of autonomy and self-determination in people and in communities, which enables them to represent their interests in a responsible and self-determined way, acting on their own authority. It is also the act of empowering someone, the granting of the power, right, or authority to perform various acts or duties, which is, people having power and control over their own lives, get the support they need that is right for them as equal citizens in all ramifications and endevours.…

FIRS 2023 H1 Collection: A Reflection of the Power and Impact of Citizens' Civic Obligations Compliance By Femi Onakanren In the aftermath of its record breaking N10 trillion tax revenue collection in the 2022 fiscal year, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has continued to show that its historic performance was no fluke. The recently announced 2023 half-year performance update is a clear pointer to this. The FIRS seems to be on course to completely change the trajectory of tax collections and federal revenue diversification by its unrelenting drive to surpass itself regularly. The FIRS’ 2023 Half-Year Collection Report showed…

As Malagi and Ajuri Ngelale Renounce Lai’s Lies and Adesina’s Insults By Farooq A. Kperogi   The Information and National Orientation Minister, Mohammed Idris Malagi, and the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, started their jobs by inaugurating a refreshing and applaudable departure from the primitive information management strategies of their predecessors. But can they sustain the moral high ground they signposted in their initiatory speeches? On his first day in office on August 1, Ngelale took deserved and carefully targeted potshots at the rude and crude informational tactics of his predecessors. “Gone forever, by…

By Jantiku Ijanada Just when we thought the peak in tax collection was attained, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) brought forward another harvest of revenue collection, peaking any collection in our nation’s history. The tax agency recently announced a total tax revenue collection of N5.5 trillion for the half-year period of January to June 2023 signifying the highest tax revenue collection ever recorded by the Service in any first six months of a fiscal year. Even though this did not come as a shocker, it is still fascinating to see how the FIRS has improved so much under its…

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…