Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has enjoined staff of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to support and accord the management of the service under the leadership of Kabiru Mashi the needed cooperation in realizing its mandate.
She described the board as the foremost revenue earner and therefore, enjoined every staff to give their support to Mashi achieving the set target.
Speaking during an unscheduled visit to the FIRS Corporate headquarters,she expressed satisfaction with the leadership of Mashi whom she similarly commended for surpassing revenue targets.
She however,used the occasion to clear the air on appointment of a substantive Chief Executive for the service.“I don’t want your morale to be lowered . Every institution has to go this way even at the World Bank, we also advertised for positions. The President called me that this position has to be advertised using a consultant. The decision to appoint a substantive chairman is now in his hands. He has the list and we are also working with the National Assembly”
“I (urge) you to give Mashi your support. When the President is ready he will tell us. Come June 1, we have to be up and doing our target is $500 million”.
She lamented the difficulty in boosting oil revenue due to the prevailing circumstances
“We have to really work hard on non-oil revenue direction. As you can see we have challenges in oil revenue due To oil theft.Prices are crashing,we are experiencing two shocks- the price shock and quantity shock. And for Customs, we are also experiencing some shocks. We are the biggest importer of rice in the world, by the time we became self-sufficient, the revenue in that area will drop”, she said.
Also speaking,Chairman of FIRS chapter of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria Comrade Samson Okere assured the Minister that contrary to insinuations and faceless petitions,relations between staff and management has been cordial and robust.
