Fowler has been on borrowed
time for a while. When Buhari refused to extend his tenure as the
nation's chief tax administrator this week, the president was only
acting out a script.
On Monday, December 9, 2019, President Muhammadu Buhari made it clear he won’t be handing Babatunde Fowler a fresh term in office as Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
Fowler, 63, was appointed to oversee affairs at the tax office by Buhari on December 9, 2015, after confirmation by the senate.
A seasoned tax administrator who rose through the ranks at the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service
(LIRS)from 2005 to 2013, Fowler is credited with boosting the tax
office revenue of Lagos, from one that generated N3.6 billion a month in
2006 to one that would average over N20.5 billion per month in 2014.
The tenure of the executive chairman of the FIRS can be renewed by the presidency, but President Buhari has since named Muhammad Nami as Fowler’s replacement, even after Fowler begged for a second stint on the saddle.
“President Muhammadu Buhari has approved
the composition of a new board for the Federal Inland Revenue Service,
FIRS, subject to senate confirmation.
“The president nominated a renowned tax consultant, Muhammad M. Nami as the new chairman.
“The board is composed of a member
representing each of the six geographical zones and statutory
representatives from a select number of ministries and government
agencies.
“Chairman of FIRS, Babatunde Fowler, whose
term of office expired on Monday, 9th December, 2019 is expected to
hand over to the most senior director on the board, who will take
charge, pending the senate confirmation of the new board,” the presidency announced in a statement signed by Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu.
Tinubu's 'boy'
Fowler arrived the nation’s tax
office with plenty of goodwill and a track record of taking tax revenue
in Lagos to record highs.
It also helped that Fowler was a childhood friend and a former classmate of Nigeria’s Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
Fowler was handpicked by APC godfather, Bola Ahmed Tinubu to head the FIRS and has long been viewed as ‘Tinubu’s boy.’ He also answers to and swears by Bourdillon, sources say.
Bola Tinubu handpicked Fowler for the FIRS (APC Lagos)
By firing him--in a manner of
speaking--President Buhari is making a statement of some sort to the
Southwest base of his party which Tinubu controls.
Shortfall in revenues
However, Fowler’s sack has been imminent for a
while. On August 8, 2019, President Buhari queried Fowler for worsening
tax revenues since 2015.
In the query signed by Chief of Staff Abba Kyari, Buhari told Fowler:
“Accordingly, you are kindly invited to submit a comprehensive variance
analysis explaining the reasons for the variances between the budgeted
collections and actual collections for each main tax item for each of
the years 2015 to 2018."
According to Premium Times, "In
2015, FIRS set N4.7 trillion target but was only able to make N3.7
trillion in the actual collection. In 2016, 2017 and 2018, the target
collections were N4.2 trillion, N4.8 trillion and N6.7 trillion but the
actual collections were N3.3 trillion, N4.0 trillion and N5.3 trillion,
respectively."
In his October 1, 2019 Independence Day address, and without mentioning him by name, Buhari warned Fowler that he’s got to sit up.
President Muhammadu Buhari didn't really fancy Fowler, hard as he tried (Presidency)
“Our revenue-generating and reporting
agencies will come under much greater scrutiny, going forward, as the
new performance management framework will reward exceptional revenue
performance, while severe consequences will attend failures to achieve
agreed revenue targets,” Buhari said.
It was a paragraph that should have signaled
to Fowler that his tenure was never going to be renewed on Buhari’s
watch, hard as he tried.
Corruption allegations
Presidency sources who spoke to Pulse
on condition of anonymity accuse Fowler of a lavish lifestyle,
bankrolling extravagant parties and concerts in Lagos, poor corporate
governance structures at the FIRS, poor audits at the FIRS, high
handedness in office, diversion of funds, brazen corruption and awarding
contracts to stooges and cronies.
Pulse has been
unable to reach Fowler for a response to some of these allegations, with
calls placed to his smartphone returning unanswered, before this story
was published.
While handing over to the Coordinating Director, Domestic Taxes Group, Abiodun Aina, on Monday, Fowler did admit that he was a difficult, if unpleasant boss to work with.
FIRS Chair, Babatunde Tunde Fowler at the African Tax Administration Forum in 2018. (Punch)
Twitter/FIRS Nigeria
“For people who have known me for a while,
some of them refer to me as a shark. I like to keep people on their
toes. Some of you might have thought that I don’t appreciate your
contribution. But some of you… might have been able to do things better.
And part of my role is to bring out that potential in you. And I hope I
have been able to do that. I am content.
“Some of you might have thought that I
don’t like you. But I assure you it was work. But I believe in this
room, we have got a lot of talent regardless of what happens, keep the
flag flying,” Fowler said during his valedictory address.
Fraud touching friends
In April, Premium Times reported that nine FIRS officials were in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for “alleged multi-billion naira fraud.”
The report from the online news platform had read in parts:
“It is still unclear to EFCC officials, whether or not Mr. Fowler is
involved in the scandal. Premium Times has no evidence of the
involvement of the FIRS chief.
“Details of the scandal are still sketchy
as at the time of this report. However, Messrs Auta and Hena are being
investigated for allegedly diverting about N6 billion tax funds that
should have gone to the Nigerian government, anti-corruption officials
said.”
Pulse will update this story with Fowler's response as soon as we have one.
Fowler begged for another term
Fowler did make a last ditch case for a second
term in office in a letter addressed to Secretary to the Government of
the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha.
The letter reads in part: “I wish to
present myself for reappointment for a second term. This is consistent
with the provisions of the FIRS Establishment Act 2007 and would grant
me the opportunity to consolidate and build on the achievements we have
recorded in the past four years.
“Please find attached the highlights of my achievements during my first tenure in office."
“I would like to put on record my
gratitude to Mr. President for the opportunity to serve the nation. I am
also thankful for your support in the course of the discharge of my
duties. Please accept as always, the assurance of my highest regards.”
The letter was dated December 9, 2019--the
same day President Buhari pulled the rug from under Fowler’s feet by
announcing Nami as his replacement.
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