The Changing Face Of Adamawa State Board Of Internal Revenue
A visit to the Adamawa State Board of Internal Revenue by some one that has not visited the board in the last two months will reveal a monumental change in the attitude of the staff and a conducive environment put in place by the new Chairman, Alhaji HammanAdama Njabari. He was appointed to resussitate the board back to life and to generate all revenues that will complement government efforts in delivering democratic dividends.
Due to the dexterity and commitment exhibited by the Chairman, new outlets was opened in the board to generate revenue through learner’s registration which is the first in the history of revenue boards in this country. Designated channels were created for the inflow of cash in terms of revenue generation across the state with the opening of zonal offices across the entire state. This would go a long way in making the State to actualize the laudable commitment of the government. A lot of incentives was put in place by the board to ginger up the staff for optimum performance. This was accentuated by the Chairman of the board for the fact that staffs are the engine of the board in the art of collecting the desired revenue generation for the state. It is worth mentioning in this piece, that concrete arrangements was put in place in the whole of the zonal offices to collect taxes.
The Chairman of the board, who has the mandate of the government to collect all revenue has put in place the necessary tools towards that. Essential departments was put in place to achieve that target in addition to the existing departments in the board. The board is not leaving any stone unturned based on the guidelines given by the State Executive Council to generate substantial revenue for the government to enable it take proactive measure(s) to see, that the leakages hitherto associated with the board is no longer in place. Also, the vision of the leadership especially the Chairman Alhaji Hamman Adama Njabari, is to have a unique board that can generate the required revenue to complement the allocation from the federal government.
In delivering dividend of democracy, the Chairman has succeeded where his predecessors had failed, since he has performed creditably, effectively and efficiently in the areas mostly needed for enhanced management.
The effort enhances the chances of the people to be well informed about the activities of the board in revenue generation. The Chairman, Alhaji Hamman Adama Njabari intensified his effort in meeting the mandate given to the board by the government for revenue collection.
This was done through non interference by the Chairman in the activity of each department by giving free hands for the Directors of each department to be effectively in charge. Nobody is complaining of being marginalized, victimized and humiliated by either the Chairman or Directors. This has gone a long way in creating a robust relationship among the staff of the board. There is no disconnect and antagonism, that normally lead to unwanted friction in terms of discharging responsibility among the staff of the board. This was made possible because the Chairman, Alhaji Hammanadama Njabari, believes in collective team work that usually lead to enhanced productivity on the psyche of the staff. The changing face of the Adamawa State Board of Internal Revenue is anchored on the fact that before things are not done in the right way thereby denying the state substantial revenue that need to go into the coffers. All hands are being put on deck in revenue generation in Adamawa State due to incentives put on by the Chairman, who was appointed on the basis of his pedigree as the former Director of Collection. The board has within a short time recorded remarkable success in generation of revenue in the first quarter of the year. By the end of the year, the target of #2 billion would be met.
Therefore, what is happening in the board now is a result of collective team work by the new leadership, which was lacking over the years.
More efforts need to be done so as to conserve the internally Generated Revenue to avoid over dependence on the federal allocation. More grease to the management of the board for this success story.
Usman Santuraki, Jambutu, Jimeta-Yola.