Yemisi Izuora
The House of Representatives Committee on Finance has applauded the level of progress and achievements being made by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), promising not withhold any support needed by the Agency.
The Committee members, who were on oversight visit, held a meeting with FIRS management at the Revenue House in Abuja, on Tuesday, and also toured the agency’s permanent headquarters in the Central Business District currently under construction.
A statement by the Special Adviser on Media to the FIRS chairman, Dare Adekanmbi, said the chairman of the Committee, Honourable James Faleke, who addressed newsmen after the tour, expressed satisfaction at the transformation in FIRS under the chairman, Zacch Adedeji, and the increased tax revenue, pledging continued support of the Committee for the initiatives of the agency.
“For us, we can only commend the staff and Management of FIRS and of course the contractors for a job well done. We have seen the quality work being done. They have designed it very well and when we asked them questions, they answered. We are satisfied. We say kudos to FIRS.
“We first went to the temporary building where the FIRS is using now and of course we met the Directors and everybody. Why we have taken time to come on oversight is to allow the chairman to fully settle and we have seen the evidence that he has fully settled.
“His work is very smooth. We could see on the faces of that staff that they are also happy with what the chairman is doing. We decided to come to the proposed permanent site. We have seen the progress so far. Like the architect said, the project began in 2011 and it will be completed next year.
“We expect that when that is done and the Nigerian Revenue Service bill is passed, it will be launched in this building. And we expect more revenue to come to Nigeria.
On whether the Committee is encouraged to continue to support FIRS, Faleke said: “We have always supported FIRS. Our committee is the main committee. If we withdraw our support, there will be a collapse of the system. It isn’t about being encouraged; it is about us doing our job, to do what is right.”
The Executive Chairman of the FIRS, Zacch Adedeji thanked the Committee for their visit and support, stating that FIRS will continue to cooperate with the lawmakers to move Nigeria forward.