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FIRS Nets N1.5trn In First Quarter

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Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) said it collected a total sum of N1.5 trillion revenue as at the end of April.

This is contained in a statement signed by the services’ Director, Communications and Liaison Department, Mr Emmanuel Obeta, on Thursday in Abuja.

According to the statement, the figure is an improvement on what it collected same period last year.

It stated that FIRS had jerked up its internal-revenue target for 2013 to N6 trillion as against the N5.72 trillion target given to it by the Federal Government.

The statement noted that the new target was drawn from the result of its modernisation and automation projects, particularly the Integrated Tax Administration System (ITAS).

“At the Regional Enlarged Management Meeting (REMM) in Lagos on Thursday FIRS Management team’s strategy was on how to achieve the targets of the service.

“Some of the issues discussed at the Lagos REMM included how to improve efficiency in FIRS revenue collection through the implementation of ITAS and improve staff motivation to ensure utmost performance,’’ it stated.

The acting chairman of the service, Mr Kabir Mashi, said that from August, FIRS would begin to implement various components of the ITAS project, which the service had been working on.

He said that when implemented, the ITAS project would enhance online real time payment of taxes and automatic receipt of tax clearance certificates, real time generation of Withholding Tax Credit Notes.

“ITAS is also expected to automate the raising and posting of assessments, filing of withholding tax credit, collation of arrears, risk analysis, production of reports and automated generation of demand letters to taxpayers.

“The Project will also eliminate paper file movement in the organisation and replace that with electronic systems which will ease hiccups in procurement and payment system in the organisation,’’ he said.

Mashi urged the general public to be wary of some fraudulent elements in the society who might be using the name of the service to extort money from them in the name of getting jobs for them in FIRS.

He said that it had come to his notice that some misguided individuals had been peddling rumour that FIRS was recruiting.

“At the moment, FIRS is not recruiting new staff. FIRS has a tradition of advertising widely its recruitment appeals and we will do that when we have another batch of recruitment.

“I have received a lot of text messages and mails from people on this. They said that some people notified them that FIRS is recruiting, but there is nothing like that going on.

“We have concluded 2010 recruitment exercise and I know that recently, we employed some of our contract staff,’’ he said.

Also speaking, Mr Sunday Ogungbesan, the Coordinating Director, Field Operations Group, said such meetings had helped the FIRS to make effective decisions in the past.

He said that the meeting in Lagos would help the service to interact with the staff in Lagos regions and make good decisions.

“Our main focus in 2013 is of consolidation and strengthening existing ground. This we intend to achieve by vigorously pursuing the goals of the restructuring.

“This goals are entrenchment of customer service strategy operations, consolidation of taxpayer segmentation, improvement of taxpayer services, all aimed at improving taxpayer compliance,’’ he said.

Ogungbesan said that if managed properly, all these efforts are expected to result in high level of increased revenue flow into the revenue basket.

“An up to date report of FIRS revenue collection as at the end of May 2013 shows that our collections are beginning to pick up.

“I urge all Tax Controllers, Regional Coordinators and Directors to work continuously to sustain the rising tempo in order to meet the half-year target at the end of June,’’ Ogungbesan said.

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Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons

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Kenya made it a clean sweep at the Berlin Marathon with Sabastian Sawe winning the men’s race and Rosemary Wanjiru triumphing in the women’s.

Sawe finished in two hours, two minutes and 16 seconds to make it three wins in his first three marathons.

The 30-year-old, who was victorious at this year’s London Marathon, set a sizzling pace as he left the field behind and ran much of the race surrounded only by his pacesetters.

Japan’s Akasaki Akira came second after a powerful latter half of the race, finishing almost four minutes behind Sawe, while Ethiopia’s Chimdessa Debele followed in third.

“I did my best and I am happy for this performance,” said Sawe.

“I am so happy for this year. I felt well but you cannot change the weather. Next year will be better.”

Sawe had Kelvin Kiptum’s 2023 world record of 2:00:35 in his sights when he reached halfway in 1:00:12, but faded towards the end.

In the women’s race, Wanjiru sped away from the lead pack after 25 kilometers before finishing in 2:21:05.

Ethiopia’s Dera Dida followed three seconds behind Wanjiru, with Azmera Gebru, also of Ethiopia, coming third in 2:21:29.

Wanjiru’s time was 12 minutes slower than compatriot Ruth Chepng’etich’s world record of 2:09:56, which she set in Chicago in 2024.

 

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NIS Ends Decentralised Passport Production After 62 Years

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The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has officially ended passport production at multiple centres, transitioning to a single, centralised system for the first time in 62 years.
Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, made the disclosure during an inspection of the Nigeria’s new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja, last Thursday.
He stated that since the establishment of NIS in 1963, Nigeria had never operated a central passport production centre, until now, marking a major reform milestone.
“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.
He explained that old machines could only produce 250 to 300 passports daily, but the new system had a capacity of 4,500 to 5,000 passports every day.
“With this, NIS can now meet daily demands within just four to five hours of operation,” he added, describing it as a game-changer for passport processing in Nigeria.
“We promised two-week delivery, and we’re now pushing for one week.
“Automation and optimisation are crucial for keeping this promise to Nigerians,” the minister said.
He noted that centralisation, in line with global standards, would improve uniformity and enhance the overall integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.
Tunji-Ojo described the development as a step toward bringing services closer to Nigerians while driving a culture of efficiency and total passport system reform.
According to him, the centralised production system aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, boosting NIS capacity and changing the narrative for improved service delivery.
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FG To Roll Out Digital Public Infrastructure, Data Exchange, Next Year 

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The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has announced plans to roll out Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and the Nigerian Data Exchange (NGDX) platforms across key sectors of the economy, starting in early 2026.
Director of E-Government and Digital Economy at NITDA, Dr. Salisu Kaka, made the disclosure in Abuja during a stakeholder review session of the DPI and NGDX drafts at the Digital Public Infrastructure Live Event.
The forum, themed “Advancing Nigeria’s Digital Public Infrastructure through Standards, Data Exchange and e-Government Transformation,” brought together regulators, state governments, and private sector stakeholders to harmonise inputs for building inclusive, secure, and interoperable systems for governance and service delivery.
According to Kaka, Nigeria already has several foundational elements in place, including national identity systems and digital payment platforms.
What remains is the establishment of the data exchange framework, which he said would be finalised by the end of 2025.
“Before the end of this year and by next year we will be fully ready with the foundational element, and we start dropping the use cases across sectors,” Kaka explained.
He stressed that the federal government recognises the autonomy of states urging them to align with national standards.
“If the states can model and reflect what happens at the national level, then we can have a 360-degree view of the whole data exchange across the country and drive all-of-government processes,” he added.
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