THE Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, Mrs. Ifueko Omoigui-Okaru, has formerly stepped down as the Chief Executive Officer, CEO, of the organisation, at the expiration of her second four-year-term.
The former FIRS boss, whose second term in office expired April 6, 2012, has directed the Coordinating Director, Support Services Group, SSG, Mr. Kabir Mashi, to take charge of the FIRS in acting capacity, pending the appointment of a substantive chairman by President Goodluck Jonathan.
A well-deserved valedictory session was held for Mrs. Omoigui-Okaru, by top management of the service, at the FIRS headquarters, Abuja. This should be replicated at national level for someone that did so well considering the nation's hash tax environment.
Her tenure as the chairman of the FIRS saw the tax agency transformed from a backstage organisation to an outstanding money making body of government.
Investigations revealed that in the 2011 financial year, Mrs. Omoigui-Okaru and her team exceeded the Federal Government revenue target from N3.7 trillion to N4.1 trillion.
The former chairman, a first class material, was appointed in 2004 by former President Olusegun Obasanjo for the first-term and was reappointed for her second term in 2008, by late President Umaru Yar'Adua's government, for her excellent performance.
The issue now should be, who will take over from this avowed performer?
We believe strongly that the next appointee to this national backbone in terms of revenue generation must have the capacity to surpass Omoigui-Okaru's records and should be well positioned to stamp out some tax payers complaints like double taxation.
Vanguard Nigeria