…Also Receives BusinessDay Excellence in Public Service Award 2022
Muhammad Nami, the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), has been awarded the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) Merit Award 2023 in its Non-Members Category at the Institute’s 2023 Annual Dinner Awards.
The prestigious event took place at the Monarch Event Centre in Lagos yesterday.
Mallam Tijani Musa Isa, the President of the Association, praised Mr. Nami’s leadership skills, describing him as an unassuming and humble achiever who has led the FIRS to excel in the international tax circle despite global economic challenges by achieving milestones in revenue collection.
Mal. Isa noted, “This Award is in recognition of your positive impact on society. You have made a significant contribution to the institute and to Nigeria. The governing board deemed it fit to acknowledge the role you have played and your outstanding achievements.”
Mr. Nami’s citation described him as “a go-getter and an ingenious leader.” It further stated that “the reforms he is implementing at FIRS attest to his dexterity, visionary leadership, and patriotism. Under his visionary leadership, the FIRS in 2022 achieved an unprecedented revenue collection of N10.1 trillion, which is the highest tax collection ever made in the history of the country.”
Upon receiving the award, Mr. Nami expressed his gratitude to the Council Members of the Institute, saying that he has been lucky to work with their members throughout his 32-year career.
He said, “I feel blessed by this honour and privilege. I am grateful to God and to all of you who have found me worthy of this recognition. I pray God rewards all of you enormously.”
The Executive Chairman FIRS dedicated the award to his alma mater from primary to tertiary levels; his former colleagues at the Presidential Committee on Audit of Stolen Recovered Stolen Assets; members of the Tax Advisory Committee of the FIRS; all taxpayers; the Board Members, Management and staff of the FIRS, and his family members.
In a similar recognition earlier in the week, on Thursday 4th May 2023, Mr. Nami was named the winner of the BusinessDay Excellence in Public Service Award 2022, at the BusinessDay States Competitiveness And Good Governance Awards 2022.
The country’s influential business newspaper explained that it named him the winner of the award for his “visionary and leadership qualities [that] have brought tremendous change to the FIRS.”
The newspaper further noted that “Under your leadership, you transformed the tax administration and compliance landscape in Nigeria. You deployed the revolutionary TaxPro Max: FIRS’ homegrown digital platform for tax administration which allows taxpayers to register, file returns and pay their taxes easily from any location other than their respective tax offices. You have repositioned the operations and staff of the FIRS and introduced technological tools to institute more transparency, accountability, and effectiveness, which in turn has translated into the increased capacity to deliver on the mandate with results.”
