By Christiana Oche
The Executive Chairman, Nasarawa State Internal Revenue Service (NIRS), Alhaji Ahmed Yakubu Muhammad has urged Nigerians to imbibe the culture of discipline in tax payment, which he described as a key factor for economic success in Nigeria.
Muhammad made this known recently in Lafia when he received Leadership Scorecard Performance award from the Publisher of LEADERSHIP Scorecard Magazine, Mr Humphrey Onyima.
The chairman, who called on the media to collaborate with the government to enlighten the masses on the benefit of tax payment, noted that success cannot be achieved if citizens fail to cooperate with the government to contribute to the growth and development of the nation.
He stated that the state has been able to improve on the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) which is the constitutional provision.
“We have introduced a lot of taxes that have not been collected before to improve our revenue. We have been able to block loopholes from the service by strengthening the internal control system.
He however commended the efforts of the Executive Governor of Nasarawa State, His Excellency, Alh. Tanko Al-Makura, for addressing the initial challenges he met on assuming office as the chairman.
He further applauded his staff for his success, adding that “the award came as a result of their dedication and support.”
He thanked LEADERSHIP Scorecard for recognizing and finding him worthy of the honour. Adding that the award will make him work harder towards the development of the state.
Earlier, Mr Onyima while presenting the award, commended the chairman for repositioning NIRS by raising the confidence and building the trust of the taxpaying public on the state Internal Revenue Service operations through the media and public dialogue approach.
He further lauded Mr Muhammad on his achievement on the establishment of State Joint Revenue Committee, a platform of the State Internal Revenue Service and the Local Government Area Councils to serve as an arbiter for disputes resolution on revenue matters in the history of the state as required by the extant tax laws.
“You have been able to reposition NIRS, to meet its annual revenue targets for optimum performance that will increase the IGR to the state, thereby making Nasarawa to be less dependent on federal government,” he said.
