Featured
NYSC Trains Internal Auditor Officers For Smooth Operation

By Joel Ajayi
The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has expressed that training its Internal Auditors Officers across the country will bring more operational efficiency and smooth operation to the Scheme.
Director-General of the Scheme YD Ahmed stated this on Monday in Abuja at the 2023 Internal Auditor Officers Workshop with the theme: “Training NYSC Internal Auditors on Requisite Information Technology (IT) Skills for Effective Service Delivery” will reflect management’s unwavering commitment to deployment of IT solutions to drive every facet of the Scheme’s operations.
DG who was represented by the Scheme’s Director Of General Services Alhaji Abdullahi Yusuf Baba said the training is in line with management’s commitment to enhance the competence of staff for efficiency as well as smooth operation.
According to him, this training is in line with this administration’s Policy Thrust to enhance staff competencies and work output.
“Given that we are in a dynamic world where the environment constantly evolves, there is a need for continuous upgrade of knowledge and skills of staff to align with global best practices.
“This training is therefore designed to enhance your competencies for optimal discharge of your duties. The training will focus on the following areas among others; Deploying IT skills to enhance, Capacity for efficient data analysis, improving transparency in governance in the Scheme, efficiency, Use of IT in achieving information confidentiality and handling of sensitive data, Organizational skills, and ability to stay focused on assigned tasks
“Others include Understanding of data integrity and security policies through the deployment of IT.”
“It is my firm belief that at the end of the workshop, you would have been equipped not only for improved productivity with less supervision in handling your tasks but also for increased job satisfaction.
He commended internal auditors for their commitment and display of professionalism in handling their responsibilities, urging them to use the training to identify areas of lapses in their schedules and come up with workable solutions and best practices with a view to improving them.
In his opening remarks, the Head Of Internal Audit Unit of the Scheme Mr. Levi Agim said the training will no doubt empower and help officers to speed up their work accurately and efficiently.
He applauded the Director General for the unwavering passion and commitment to Staff training which has enhanced the job performance and output of personnel of the Scheme.
Head Of the Internal Audit Unit Mr. Agim added that: “Officers of the Internal Audit Department of NYSC are saddled with the tasks of assessing the Scheme’s financial risks, safeguarding her assets, gathering and analyzing its data, checking the accuracy of financial reports, auditing the efficiency of the Scheme’s processes as well as ensuring adherence to policies, procedures, and extant laws.
“It is therefore imperative that the Knowledge and skill of this category of Officers be constantly updated on prevailing developments and best practices particularly in the area of Information Technology as the financial environment is getting more complex and sophisticated by the day.” He said.
Business
Tax Reform Bills: The Verdict of Nigerians

Ismaila Ahmad Abdullahi Ph.D
The public hearings conducted recently by the two Chambers of the National Assembly have elicited positive responses from a broad spectrum of Nigerians, cutting across regional interest groups, government agencies, civil society groups, concerned individuals, the academia, and Labour Unions, among diverse others. Contrary to a few dissensions hitherto expressed in the media, almost all the stakeholders who spoke during the week-long sessions were unanimous in their declaration that the hallowed Chambers should pass the tax reform bills after a clean-up of the grey areas.
The public hearings were auspicious for all Nigerians desirous of economic growth and fiscal responsibility. They were also a watershed moment for the Federal Inland Revenue Service, which had been upbeat about the tax reforms. Indeed, the public hearings had rekindled hope in the tenets of democracy that guarantee freedom of expression and equitable space for cross-fertilisation of ideas. Without gainsaying the fact, the tax reform bills have been unarguably about the most thought-provoking issues in Nigeria today, drawing variegated perspectives and commentaries from even unlikely quarters such as the faith-based leaders, student bodies, and trade unions, which speaks much about the importance of the bills.
In the build-up to the public hearings, not many people believed that the bills would make it to the second reading, much less the public hearings. Even the Northern stakeholders who seemed unlikely to support the passage of the bills have softened their stance and have given valuable suggestions that would enrich the substance of the bills. The Arewa Consultative Forum came to the public hearings well-prepared with a printed booklet that addressed their concerns. It concluded with an advisory that the bills should be “Well planned, properly communicated, strategically implemented and ample dialogue and political consensus allowed for the reforms to be accepted.”
The concerns of ACF ranged from the composition of the proposed Nigeria Revenue Service Board as contained in Part 111, Section 7 of the bill, the unlimited Presidential power to exempt/wave tax payment as proposed in Section 75(1) of the bill, the family income or inheritance tax as contained in Part 1, Section 4(3) of the bill, to the issues around development levy and VAT. On the development levy, the ACF stated that unless the Federal Government is considering budgetary funding for TETFUND, NASENI and NITDA, it does not see the “wisdom behind the plan to replace (them) with NELFUND”.
The position of the North was equally reinforced by the Supreme Council for Shariah in Nigeria, Northern Elders Forum, Kano State Government, Professor Auwalu Yadudu, and the FCT Imams. Like the ACF, these stakeholders lent their respective voices to the Section on the Inheritance Tax in Part 1 of the bill and the use of the term ‘ecclesiastical’, which, in their views, undermines certain religious rights and beliefs. The Kano State Government, represented by Mahmud Sagagi, affirmed that “we support tax modernisation” but cautioned that “we must ensure that this process does not come at the expense of states’ constitutional rights and economic stability”. Professor Auwalu Yadudu, a constitutional law professor, drew attention to the use of the ‘supremacy clause’ and cautioned that the repeated use of “notwithstanding” in the bills would undermine the supremacy of the Nigerian constitution if passed as such.
Other stakeholders that made contributions at the sessions included the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas, Fiscal Responsibility Commission, Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria, Nigeria Customs Service, and a host of others. While most of their concerns bordered on technical issues requiring fine-tuning, they were unanimous in their support for the bills. They aligned with the position of the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Zacch Adedeji, Ph.D. and the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, which is that the extant tax laws and fiscal regulations are obsolete necessitating reforms aimed at creating a fair and equitable tax and fiscal space to grow Nigeria’s economy.
In one of the sessions, Dr Zaach Adedeji expounded on the criss-cross of trade activities in the Free Trade Zone whereby companies misuse tax waivers as exporters to sell their goods or services in the Customs Area at an amount usually less than the price the operators in the Customs Area who pay VAT and other taxes sell theirs thereby disrupting business transactions. This way, the operators in the Free Trade Zone shortchange the government in paying their due taxes by circumventing extant regulations, which are inimical to the economy’s growth.
Overall, the presentations were forthright, foresighted, and helpful in elucidating the issues contained in the bills. According to the statistics read out at the end of the hearings at the Senate, 75 stakeholders were invited, 65 made submissions, and 61 made presentations. At the House of Representatives 53 stakeholders made presentations. By all means, this is a fair representation. Given the presentations, it is evident that the National Assembly has gathered enough materials to guide its deliberations on the bills. As we look forward to the passage of the bills, we commend the leadership of the National Assembly for their unwavering commitment to making the bills see the light of the day.
Abdullahi is the Director of the Communications and Liaison Department, FIRS.
-
Featured6 years ago
Lampard Names New Chelsea Manager
-
Featured5 years ago
FG To Extends Lockdown In FCT, Lagos Ogun states For 7days
-
Featured6 years ago
NYSC Dismisses Report Of DG’s Plan To Islamize Benue Orientation Camp
-
Featured5 years ago
Children Custody: Court Adjourns Mike Ezuruonye, Wife’s Case To April 7
-
Featured3 years ago
Transfer Saga: How Mikel Obi Refused to compensate me After I Linked Him Worth $4m Deal In Kuwait SC – Okafor
-
Sports2 years ago
TINUBU LAMBAST DELE MOMODU
-
News3 months ago
Zulu to Super Eagles B team, President Tinubu is happy with you
-
Featured5 years ago
Board urges FG to establish one-stop rehabilitation centres in 6 geopolitical zones