Babatunde Fowler

Babatunde FowlerListenⓘ (born 12 August 1956) is a Nigerian public officer, tax administrator and social reformer. He was the executive chairman Lagos State Board of Internal Revenue and Chief Executive Officer Lagos State Internal Revenue Service. He is the former executive chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).[1][2]

Babatunde Fowler
Born (1956-08-12) 12 August 1956
Lagos, Lagos State, Nigeria
OccupationTax Administrator
Spouse
Rosemary Fowler
​
(m. 1982)​

Career

The Board of internal revenue became autonomous and self-accounting with the passage into law in January 2006 of the Lagos State Revenue Administration Law and Fowler was appointed as the first CEO of the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service and executive chairman of the Lagos State Board of Internal Revenue.[3]

With this re-engineering, the new Lagos State Board of Internal Revenue has achieved a sharp increase in Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) from an average of ₦3.6 billion per month in January 2006 to an average of over ₦20.5 billion per month in 2014.[4]

Declining tax revenues since 2015, a lavish lifestyle, and whispered accusations of outright corruption were suspected to be behind the announcement on 9 December 2019 of President Muhammadu Buhari declining to renew his appointment as executive chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).[5]

Advocacy

Foweler advocates for less dependence on oil. The position was reiterated by him at an international conference where he warned the Federal Government of Nigeria that the "drastic drop in revenue had a negative impact on the balance in the federation account and by extension the amount accruing to the three tiers of government (in Nigeria) during the year 2009".[6] In stimulating interest and raising awareness on tax education at an early stage in life, Fowler introduced a competition for pupils which is funded by his board in which winners are given cash awards and scholarships.[7]

References
  1. SIMEON EBULU. "'Lagos is powered by internally-generated revenue' - Tunde Fowler". The Nation Newspaper. Retrieved 2008-04-30.
  2. LIRS. "Dr Babatunde Fowler". Internal Revenue Service - Lagos State.
  3. "Buhari Appoints Babatunde Fowler New FIRS Chairman". Retrieved 2015-08-20.
  4. News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). "Lagos generates N120bn from tax in 6 months". The Sun Newspaper. Archived from the original on 2014-12-03. Retrieved 2014-07-31.
  5. Egbas, Jude (10 December 2019). "Here are the real reasons why Buhari fired Tinubu's man, Tunde Fowler, as FIRS boss". Pulse Nigeria. Lagos, Nigeria: Ringier Nigeria Limited. Retrieved 16 February 2020. 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.
  6. EMR. "FG cautioned on over-dependence on oil revenue". Energy Mix Report. Archived from the original on 2018-09-29. Retrieved 2014-01-04.
  7. MOTUNRAYO ABODERIN. "LIRS splashes N.5m on essay contest for pupils". Punch Newspaper. Archived from the original on 2012-10-28. Retrieved 2012-10-26.
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