FIRS’ Chairman, Muhammad Nami Allegedly And Callously ‘Killed Staff Morale

These are not the best of times for the chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service(FIRS) as demoralized staffers are lamenting bitterly over poor conditions of service and the inability of the agency to meet some of its financial obligations to them which has ultimately impacted negatively on the way they render services to Nigerians.

It was gathered that a larger percentage of the agency staffers now go to work with absolutely no motivation.

According to this online media sources, FIRS staff are disillusioned and disenchanted with the Chairman of the agency, Mr Muhammad Nami who has ‘virtually crippled the agency by failing in his duties to see to the welfare and utmost well-being of FIRS staff who have exceeded the expectations of many Nigerians in the recent past.

FIRS under Mr. Nami is going down the downward trend as staff morale is at an all-time low due to many factors which the management is not ready to address.

Mr. Nami we understand as not paid his staff the statutory general bonus of the year 2021 despite the agency hitting and surpassing the N5.9 trillion target set for it(the agency actually raked in N6.4 trillion for the last fiscal year.

We learnt has secretly Mr. Nami increased his own salary by 100% and increased that of his directors by 50% leaving the rest of the staff (who are actually driving, making and exceeding set target) out of the equation. We understand that the agency has a laid down policy of increasing salary every four years; the Nami-led FIRS has turned a deaf hear to the plea of staff to increase their salary – he’s yet to effect this since he assumed the position of the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service.

Mr. Muhammad Nami has also been accused of secretly recruiting more staff despite the fact that he’s mistreating the old staff.

Nami was called out around July last by the Nigerian Civil Service Union. The union said the secret recruitment of over 2,000 workers has put the Federal Inland Revenue Service under financial strain.

The union revealed that the agency was finding it difficult to pay salaries at some point last year after the secret engagement of the staff members within a period of 18 months.

The NCSU in a letter to the FIRS Chairman, Muhammad Nami, dated June 21, 2021, demanded an end to the re-engagement of retired directors and other categories of staff.

The letter which was titled, ’21 days’ ultimatum to FIRS management,’ was signed by the Chairman, NCSU-FIRS Unit, Idris Abdulrahman; and the Secretary, Idowu Jimoh, respectively.

It was copied to the Minister of Finance, Nigeria Labour Congress, Nigerian Civil Service Union, NCSU, Federal Council, the FIRS board secretariat and all FIRS staff.

The letter read in part, “In compliance with extant provisions/protocols on recruitment and career progression, we demand the immediate stoppage of re-engagement of retired directors and other categories of staff. We have noted that timely payment of salaries was a challenge at some point in 2021 after discreet recruitment of over 2,000 staff within a record period of less than 18 months.”

The NCSU in a letter to the FIRS Chairman, Muhammad Nami, dated June 21, 2021, demanded an end to the re-engagement of retired directors and other categories of staff.

The letter which was titled, ’21 days’ ultimatum to FIRS management,’ was signed by the Chairman, NCSU-FIRS Unit, Idris Abdulrahman; and the Secretary, Idowu Jimoh, respectively.

It was copied to the Minister of Finance, Nigeria Labour Congress, Nigerian Civil Service Union, NCSU, Federal Council, the FIRS board secretariat and all FIRS staff.

The union attributed the dwindling revenue collection in the country to the ‘’untimely implementation of the tax pro-max application by the Federal Inland Revenue Service.”

It said the implementation has had adverse effects on collections which ought to be high in June/July from analysis of past records.

While lauding the application which enables seamless registration, filing and payment of taxes and automatic credit of withholding tax as well as other credits to the tax payers’ accounts, the union faulted the timing of the implementation which it said coincided with the FIRS’ peak period for tax collection.

The union, therefore, recommended that the application be done in phases while asking that the tax payers should be allowed to file both electronically and manually.

The NCSU also handed down a 21-day ultimatum to the management to meet its various demands, including the payment of general performance bonus for collecting 98.6 per cent of the 2020 revenue target.

But the FIRS spokesman, Abdullahi Sumaila, denied that the FIRS was finding it difficult to pay salaries, adding that the agency has been paying salaries as and when due.

Some aggrieved staff who spoke to us on the condition of anonymity confided in us that the Nami-led management is also yet to pay staff the quarterly bonus of first and last quarter of year 2021 and this has almost killed the morale of the agency’s staff who now go to work ‘thinking about how to survive under Nami’.

On a very sad note, the agency we learnt has lost about ten members of staff in the last three months in different ugly and worrying circumstances which some staff believe is not unconnected to the poor financial state of some of the deceased. We pray that their gentle souls rest in perfect peace.

All our efforts to speak to the corporate affairs department of the agency as at press time proved abortive as our calls were not answered and no official bothered to reply