The Paradigm Shift Of Nasarawa State Chairman Board Of Internal Revenue Services
El Yakuq Ibraheem
The administration of Engineer Abdullahi Sule after assumption of office on May 29, 2019, did not hesitate to establish the ministry of Special Duties Revenue, an initiative postulated by the Chairman of the board, Yakubu Ahmed Mohammed aimed at shifting ground as well as improving on the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the state which was generating a lean amount as a monthly collection.
The meager revenue generated in the past can be attributed to the absence of the Revenue court, apart from the establishment of the Revenue court the state governor, Abdullahi Sule put in place a revenue recovery court as well set up a task force on IGR.
The holistic measure taken by the chief executive marks a paradigm and a way forward to ensure total improvement in IGR which was less than six hundred million monthly when the chairman takes over the mantle of leadership.
The drastic improvement in the collection may not be unconnected to the establishment of Revenue court, all those commitments are meant to drive home tax in the state, with the coming of Revenue court during the reign of Engineer Abdullahi Sule and Yakubu Ahmed Mohammed in the collection, which was above N600 Million to one billion Naira monthly until the outbreak of coronavirus which affects the entire globe, this seriously affects revenue generation of the state.
One of the innovations brought to the revenue board by Ahmed Yakubu Muhammed was the introduction of the Central Billing System (CBS), the automated electronic platform known as CBS has given rise to the abolition of manual receipt by the board, before the coming of the incumbent chairman whose tenure will expire next week, there were negative reports of the presence of fake tax receipts at Karu axis.
The negative approach of the former helmsman has been taken care of since 2019 when Engineer Abdullahi Sule take charge of the affairs of the state, the abolition of manual receipt which was easier to forge was designed to address the unabated leakages in the state, with the introduction of CBS by the chairman, no doubt has boosted the revenue of the state sharply.
The board in a concerted effort to ensure proper collection of taxes as well to block tax evasion by commercial banks operating in the state which was a rowdy situation during the reign of the former chairman, his successor Yakubu Mohammed adopted a monitoring team with the sole responsibility to checkmate activities of banks.
The innovation of Ahmed Yakubu has assisted to a greater measure by boosting the state revenue base, this put the commercial banks on their toes through strict supervision of payment of taxes to the state, is no longer news that Nasarawa State Board of Internal Revenue has generated a whooping N16.8bn from 2019 to 2021.
The chairman in an exclusive interview said the board generated N1.5 billion in January 2022 while in February 2022 generates N1.995bn, however, maintained that the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) generated N600 Million as against the N90 Million collected from Nasarawa civil servants.
The uncommon commitment of the chairman is a clear indication of a workaholic leader with selfless service to the state, and if given the mandate to continue beyond March 2022 sky will be the starting point for the state that relied solely on money from the Federation Account. , the current chairman going by his track records will surmount some of the challenges of the board which includes staff deficit, shortage of logistic, presence of quack revenue collectors in the field as well as the absence of autonomy to operate.
The incumbent chairman also succeeded in the introduction of Point Of Sale (POS) which was an advantage to taxpayers in the state while his last part of the state assignment was still hanging in the balance, the chairman said the Herculean task on board to introduce the tax system for Keke Napep and Okada riders.
