MEET ALHAJI SULE SALIHU ENEHE:-
— The man who revolutionized Tax Administration in Kogi State, leveraging on technology and human capital development.
By Otori Ozigi
It goes without saying that Kogi State has a long history of a mixed bag of fortunes in tax administration since the inception of the state in 1991.
In the chequered history of tax administration under previous administrations, the story of tax administration was hinged on fluctuating IGR performances.
Until the administration of the immediate past governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Adoza Bello in 2016, the IGR performance of the state was nothing to write home about.
Recall that, the then Board of Internal Revenue,BIR, was consistently posting a paltry and miserable IGR performance in the neighborhood of between N250m and N300m averagely per month.
When the result -oriented and innovative former governor of Kogi State Alhaji Yahaya Adoza assumed office,he immediately decided to take bold steps to diversify the economy of the state, by seeking ways to improve tax administration in the state.
The ultimate goal was to reposition the agency saddled with tax administration in the state, with a view to change the narrative of poor and dismal revenue generation in the state.
With his focus on getting the desired results,he quickly summoned the courage to revitalizing the BIR,by headhunting seasoned technocrats into the management team of the agency.
That was how Alhaji Dr Yakubu Oseni got appointed as the Executive Chairman of the service to spearhead the revitalization process in 2016.
With his wealth of experience as a former seasoned banker with the First Bank,he was able to make instant significant monthly IGR performance in the neighborhood of over N1b which, was sustained for years before Dr.Yakubu Oseni left the organisation to the Senate, after winning the Kogi central senatorial district election in 2019.
It was under the tenure of Senator Yakubu Oseni that there was a change in the name of the organization to what is now known as Kogi State Internal Revenue Service, KGIRS , following the passing into law and the accent of the state governor, that gave full financial and administrative autonomy to KGIRS.
Recall that the man who took over from Senator Oseni,Mr Inda Aliyu, a seasoned banker with a solid background in transformational leadership trajectory, was able to maintain the tempo of IGR performance in the region of over N1b, until his eventual exit, for alleged financial infraction.
Regrettably, the performance of the service suffered a steep decline in IGR down to a new low of N750m averagely per month, under his successor.
It was against this background, that the search for a capable, competent, knowledgeable and experienced hand, with the right contents of character, began in earnest.
The lot now fell on Alhaji Sule Salihu Enehe, who got appointed by the former governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Adoza Bello, to help return KGIRS to her high performing ways.
Essentially, the choice of Alhaji Sule was greeted with an overwhelming commendations from stakeholders in the state, given his well known capacity and competence to deliver the much needed solid results.
Alhaji Sule was a Chartered Accountant turned Tax Administrator,
with rich academic profile and professional expertise.
Expectedly, his choice gave birth to instant significant and positive impact as the service was able to post over N1.3b IGR, averagely per month.
Alhaji Sule, was formerly the Director Tax Audit and Compliance of the service, a background that put him in Pole position in his present appointment as the Executive Chairman of KGIRS.
Little wonder therefore, that he was able to generate over N18 b IGR in 2022.
In the same vein, over N23b was posted in 2023, which was the projected target for last year.
It is instructive to note that over N30.4b was also projected in the 2024 budget as the target for the service.
The Executive Chairman of KGIRS , Alhaji Sule Salihu Enehe, is optimistic that this target would be achieved, stressing that all areas of leakages had been blocked, while concerted efforts are ongoing to widen the tax net, in the years ahead.
He has since set the necessary machinery in motion to fully reposition the service for optimal performance and tax payers compliance, in keeping with core values and mandate of the service.
On the whole,it is evidently clear that better days are ahead for KGIRS under the watch of Alhaji Sule Salihu Enehe, an astute tax Administrator, par excellence.
Otori Ozigi, a veteran journalist and PR Consultant, writes from Okene, Kogi State.
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