CoS query: FIRS boss not under investigation ― Presidency

President Muhammadu Buhari

The Presidency has denied speculation that the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Babatunde Fowler, was under investigation following a query issued to him by the Chief of Staff (CoS) to the President, Abba Kyari. 

A memo by CoS to Fowler numbered FIRSECICWPr0249/1027 and dated 26 July 2019, had said: “We observed significant variances between the budgeted collections and actual collections for the period of 2015 to 2018. 

“Accordingly, you are kindly invited to submit a comprehensive variance analysis explaining the reasons for the variances between budgeted and actual collections for each main tax item for each of the years 2015 to 2018. 

“Furthermore, we observed that the actual collections for the period 2015 to 2017 were significantly worse than what was collected between 2012 and 2014.

“Accordingly, you are kindly invited to explain the reasons for the poor collections.

“You are kindly invited to respond by 19 August 2019.”

But in a statement issued in Abuja on Monday by Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media and Publicity), the Presidency said following reports making the rounds in some media outlets, it had become necessary to state categorically that the Chairman of the FIRS “is not under any investigation.”

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The statement explained that letter from the CoS “on which the purported rumour of an investigation is based, merely raises concerns over the negative run of the tax revenue collection in recent times.”

It stated that taking a cue from Monday’s presentation of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Retreat for Ministers-Designate, Federal Permanent Secretaries and Top Government Functionaries, which dwelt on an  “Overview of the Policies, Programmes and Project Audit Committee,” a body he chaired,  projected revenue of government  fell behind recurrent expenditure even without having factored in capital expenditure.

It added: “Consequently, it would appear that the country might be heading for a fiscal crisis if urgent steps are not taken to halt the negative trends in target setting and target realisation in tax revenue.

“Anyone conversant with Federal Executive Council deliberations would have observed that issues bordering on revenue form the number one concern of what Nigeria faces today, and therefore, often take a prime place in discussions of the body.

“It is noteworthy and highly commendable that under this administration, the number of taxable adults has increased from 10 million to 20 million with concerted efforts still on-going to bring a lot more into the tax net.”