Kunle Aderinokun
4 July 2009
Abuja — Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mrs. Ifueko Omoigui-Okauru, has described tax as the "vital fluid", which ensures that government runs effectively and in a sustainable manner.
Omoigui-Okauru stated this in Abuja at the Public Presentation Programme for Secondary Students on Tax Education Pilot Programme by the FIRS and The Society for Youth Empowerment in Nigeria (SYEN).
Omoigui-Okauru, who was represented by Acting Coordinator, Compliance and Enforcement Group, Mrs. Teju Somorin, said tax provided necessary internally generated revenues for development and as such "assures the prosperity of the nation and its component parts."
Noting that, tax played a vital role in national development, she stated that, "tax determines whether we will have sufficient money to provide education, good roads, running taps, constant electricity, good health system, an impregnable country and a nation where all of you can realise your lofty dreams and be happy." Earlier in his remarks, Executive Director, SYEN, Mr. Robo Oduwole, said that the answer to the dilemma which faced the nation was not "World Bank loans or debt cancellation programmes but the conception of noble visions that will give rise to the emergence of leadership that can see beyond a personal agenda to one that emphasises the common good."
He commended the FIRS led by Omoigui-Okauru for "this laudable initiative to invest in and develop the next generation for effective common leadership".
Oduwole described the first pilot of Educating Secondary School Students on taxation as a comprehensive, collaborative initiative by the FIRS and SYEN. "The main thrust of the programme is to introduce the concept of tax as an important civic responsibility, educate students on the tax types in Nigeria and imbibe in them a tax paying culture," he added.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2009 This Day. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
