Shakeup in FIRS: Mani redeploys 50 Directors, 100 others

The Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Muhammad Mani has redeployed about 50 top officials in the ranks of directors, deputy directors, and assistant directors.

Daily Trust learnt yesterday that the shakeup will also affect over 100 other staff members of the Service.

Daily Trust reports that the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning Mrs. Zainab Ahmed inaugurated the FIRS board on Thursday with Mani serving as the Chairman.

Mani who took over the position recently from Mr Babatunde Fowler had raised the revenue generation bar to N8.5 trillion.

Sources told this paper that the redeployment may be one of the strategies the new executive is using to attain the target.

It was further learnt that some directors were elevated to key positions; a senior management official was removed while a new director was employed.

Among the affected positions include those of the Coordinating Director, Compliance Enforcement Group; the Transition Lead Compliance Support Group; Director, Planning Reporting and Statistics; and the Director, Debt Management.

One of the officials redeployed said more transfers are underway as the new Executive Chairman finds his feet in the agency. Recall that Fowler had done similar redeployment of top officials after he assumed office on 25th August 2015.

“When Fowler assumed office, he redeployed officials too because he needed those he can trust to do the job. I believe that these things are routine and it is not only happening in FIRS.

“When

Comptroller

the General of Customs (CGC), Col. Hameed Ali assumed office the same August 2015, he also redeployed customs officials and he has been doing it routinely.”

Another source said staffers of FIRS are aware that top officials who had spent four years in a particular position can be redeployed at any time.

When contacted, the Head of Communications and Servicom Department at FIRS, Wahab Gbadamosi confirmed the redeployment saying such strategy is in line with the Executive Chairman’s vision of achieving the N8.5tr target in the 2020. Gbadamosi said transfers and redeployment are done routinely in the service and is done at least almost every quarter, given that the service has over 10,000 staff.

He noted that the transfers are meant to place the right staff in the right department for effective service delivery.