The Task Before The New Revenue House Helmsman 

In his bid to make sure an efficient, environment friendly, clear, and accountable income system, Governor Hyacinth Alia has appointed an appearing Government Chairman for the Benue State Inner Income Service (BIRS), the third such appointment since his inauguration as Governor in Might 2023.

There’s nothing irregular concerning the frequency of the appointments. It’s a seek for a perfectionist, an individual who will drive a clear income era system that can get monetary savings sufficient to help the federal government to ship on its mandate of offering safety, infrastructure, schooling and well being providers, employment alternatives by way of industrialisation and empowerment, help for agriculture and different elements of life.

The brand new appointment is subsequently a transfer to re-engineer governance and inject contemporary concepts for efficient and environment friendly income governance service, improve what comes into authorities coffers and discover the broader tax web so that each patriotic citizen of the state will carry out the civic obligation of paying their tax willingly. Thus, the brand new helmsman on the Income Home, Mr Joseph Kwaghgba from the Zone B axis, a famend public servant, businessman and an ardent ally of the federal government, suits this invoice completely.

Beneath the primary chairman of BIRS, Hon Emmanuel Agema, who was appointed in June 2023, some modern measures had been taken together with taxing the huge waste within the state. Throughout his tenure, the income generated by the federal government was stated to have grown by 75 per cent. Agema, who’s from Zone A axis, nonetheless, needed to give means in August 2024 following public outcry and allegations of mismanagement and lack of transparency. The folks’s governor, along with his ears to the bottom, listened, and Agema, just like the unwise bride who couldn’t maintain her marriage, was eased off his job.

The mantle of piloting the Income Home was taken by Hon Sunday Odagba  from the  Zone C axis in September 2024. A tax wizard and employees of BIRS, who got here in with a aptitude and shortly introduced that the state’s Internally Generated Income (IGR) now stood at a powerful month-to-month common of N2.2 billion. By the top of 2024, Odagba stated the BRS generated N16 billion as in opposition to the paltry N1.8 billion within the earlier 12 months, earlier than his appointment.

He maintained that the achievement underscores the efficient income era methods being adopted by Governor Hyacinth Alia’s administration, which has led to considerable progress.

To achieve that considerable progress, Odagba adopted completely different administrative methods, together with the posting of some administrators on “particular task” to the BIRS zonal workplaces to drive the brand new philosophy of tax administration, in order to generate sufficient income to help the developmental initiatives and programmes of the Government Governor of Benue State.

Despite his big achievements, Odagba needed to go. There gave the impression to be some obstacles to his superbly conceived concepts. These within the know stated he immediately turned “too non-public and silent,” and nobody appears to know what is occurring on the Income Home.

Each Agema and Odagba got here in, served to the perfect of their talents and needed to go, leaving the governor to seek for one other tax wizard and wonderful supervisor who would open all of the income home windows, seize the taxables, plug loopholes, and accumulate what is because of authorities with out worry or favour.

Thus, Kwaghgba, the third appearing chairman of BIRS, who will assume workplace on July 7, has an enormous job forward of him. Although a famend accountant with huge data of income and IGR administration, he has to stamp his foot to drive the system, guarantee effectivity, transparency and accountability at each step of the income administration system. For each step he takes, the eagle eyes of Governor Alia shall be watching him. The governor shall be on the lookout for outcomes that talk loudly. Nothing extra.

– Bridget T Tikyaa, is the Principal Particular Assistant to the Governor on Media Publicity and Communication Technique