OREDOLA ADEOLA
TUNDE Fowler’s appointment as FIRS boss, is
one of the many appointments made by President Mohammadu Buhari, which some of
the critics described as credible. According to them, he is a round peg in a
round hole.
Fowler, who headed the Lagos State Inland
Revenue Service for almost 10 years, is a quintessential tax collector. His track
record remains unmatched among tax administrators in Nigeria.
The Editorials, gathered that during his
period as LIRS boss, he helped to grow the internal revenue of Lagos state, which
has grown to more than double the federal allocations to the state. He
transformed LIRS into a money spinning agency, from about N1billion when he was
appointed in November 2005 to about N23 billion
monthly in 2014.
Having served as LIRS boss, for almost a
decade, he brought into the service, transparency and seeming accountability. He
is a core professional dreaded by tax defaulters in the state.
He introduced a model in tax
administration and development which increase the state’s tax base astronomically.
This has insulated the state from the impact of the country’s dwindling revenue
from crude oil sales. He stopped the agency’s staff from collecting cash from
tax payers. He introduced a reform where tax payers directly pay their dues
into a special account operated by the agency.
As the former LIRS boss, usually avail all the
legal means at his disposals to collect tax revenue on behalf of the state. It was
under his administration that Alpha Beta, a tax audit agency, allegedly owned
by Bola Tinubu, was consulted by LIRS as a consultant to coordinate the data of
those under the tax obligations.
He is known as a radical tax master, by the
cult of Lagos big boys and high net worth
individuals in the formal sector, i.e professionals,
who often don’t remit their taxes to the state. These categories of
people, avoid him as they often don’t like to be caught in his web. He and his
boys are feared like Nazi Zombies. The gossip about him is that ‘at the mention
of Fowler, every CEO/MDs must bow.’
Beyond his track records, as a seasoned
banker and principled tax master, his administration as LIRS boss, was marred
with so many controversies which led to some of his controversial resignations.
He was also criticized for his brazen love
for flamboyant things of life. This became evident when he gave his daughter,
Funke and her husband, Abiodun Kuku, a glitzy wedding bash in United Arab
Emirate, UAE in 2011. He was alleged to have used tax payers’ money to charter
the flight which took 300 guests to Dubai for the wedding reception. This action
placed his hard-earned track record in spot light leading to the rift between
him and Governor Fashola.
Fowler is also admired by most Lagos big
girls, who swirl around him like bees around a
hive. You get the tax man’s call for a dinner, YOU ARE MADE. The gossip
about him is, ‘FOWLER ROCKS’. High society reporters fondly tag him ‘money man’,
for his ideal to taste and audacious lifestyle.
He flaunts fleet of exotic cars
and boat worth millions of naira, which makes Lagos big boys jerk. He is not a
time waster when it comes to acquiring choice luxury items, that money can buy.
He some staff of the agency who are privy to his assets, disclosed to Editorials,
that Fowler owns attractive buildings across different locations in Lagos state.
Immediately after his
appointment, controversy has also raged over his questionable Honourary degree following
concern raised by bloggers over the credibility of the certificate as the school
mentioned in his credentials presented to the president for scrutiny stated
0 comments:
Post a Comment