Bauchi State Ministry of Finance and Economic Development has inaugurated the newly reconstituted membership of the State Board of Internal Revenue Service (BIRS) with a mandate to raise the sum of N100 billion to execute the various ongoing projects across the state.
Speaking at the inauguration of the Board held at the Conference Hall of the Ministry, the Commissioner, Dr Yakubu Adamu, told the Board members that there is a huge task ahead of them based on the marching order given by the Governor, Sen Bala Mohammed Abdulkadir.
He said, “We are all gathered here today for a purpose, we all have one schedule or the other but due to the importance of the inauguration of the Board, we feel that it is very important for all of us to come together in order to inaugurate the Board properly.”
“Let me start by saying that I am here before you with a profound heart of gratitude and responsibility to inaugurate you as members of the Board of Internal Revenue Service,” he added.
According to him, “The Governor, Sen Bala Mohammed Abdulkadir has carefully chosen each one of you based on your expertise and knowledge as well as your individual contributions to the development of our dear state.”
He added, “Based on that, we are all aware that you are not just being selected because you are better than anybody, no, it is just a rare privilege for us to serve our dear state. And for every action, there must be a reaction.”
The Commissioner added, “The Governor has a greater expectation on all of us, there is no any other institution in the state that he had so much interest and confidence in, than the BIRS.”
“If you recall, when we came in August 2023, the Governor mandated us to finance some of the projects he is willing to do within the state and a bond was raised of almost a N100b. In our first meeting, we sat down with him and he said that he does not want anybody to finance the projects with the state reserve fund, he clearly made it known that he wants us to finance the N100b projects with our internally generated revenue.
“So from there, the challenge had started, his vision is for us to be generating between N5b to N7b on a monthly basis, that is why if you noticed, you would have seen a lot of transformation in the BIRS and it is ongoing. We have changed our former Consultant after writing a report on the situation of our collections and he gave us the go-ahead to engage another competent Consultant that can carry out the task properly.
“All his vision and expectations are hinged on all of us that are here, nobody else and the truth of the matter is that you are the drivers of the IGR. Even before us, as politicians, we are not here yesterday but you have been there, you are the ones holding the state for more than a decade, we came and met you and we believe that you have all the capacity, prowess, expertise and the knowledge to carry out the job that was why he carefully selected each one of you in order for us to help him towards realising the dream of a better Bauchi State IGR,” he added.
The Commissioner added that “I want to urge everyone of us to, as leaders, see the selection as a means of paying our dues to our dear state, either directly or indirectly, we are the beneficiaries, we have seen what is going on within the state, infrastructure development are all over and the citizens are all happy in every nook and cranny you enter.”
According to him, “I am telling you, from Bauchi to Gamawa to Bogoro, Alkaleri to Toro, each angle, people are jubilating simply because they have seen infrastructure beyond their expectations and the Governor has said that we are the one to pay for the finances and we have gone to the first tranche of the transactions which is N40b and he has given instructions to go for the second trenches of the transaction which is N30b or N40b. So he does not have any hope rather than us, so, we are the engine room.”
He also said, “I want to beg each and every one of us, whatever you feel can assist us towards achieving our vision independently financing the N100b form the IGR, if you feel that you have any information or any contributions that will be of great importance to us, please, my doors are always open to you, I am your younger brother and you are all my acquaintances many years back when we were in schools.”
The Commissioner expressed confidence in the members of the new Board saying that with cooperation and unity, the mandate given by the Governor can be achieved.
In his response on behalf of the members of the Board, Chairman of the reconstituted and inaugurated, Mu’azu Usman commended the Governor for reposing confidence in them by reappointing them into the Board for another term to drive the IGR
He said that the mandate given by the Governor is realizable considering the potentials available in the state saying that with the coming of the administration of Governor Bala Mohammed, the IGR has risen to a significant amount monthly.
The Chairman added that the Board is ready to rise to the occasion to support the administration to enable it to develop the state infrastructurally as envisaged by the Governor assuring that the target will be met without much stress.
He however reminded the board members that the task is purely professional which is just to raise revenue for the state to function, urging the politicians amongst them to sensitise their constituents on the need to ensure that they paid their taxes regularly.
Mu’azu Usman then assured that the Board would be up and doing in the business of revenue generation for the good of the state and its citizens for a better living.
