FIRS: Staff Rejects Aina as Acting Chairman

• FIRS: Staff Rejects Aina as Acting Chairman

The staff of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has rejected Abiodun Aina as the acting chairman of the agency following the decision of former Chairman Mr. Babatunde Fowler to hand over to the Coordinating Director.

In a communiqué signed by 17 senior officials and sent to the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed; the President of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria and the President of the Nigeria Civil Service Union, the staff said: “The attention of the Joint Union Council of FIRS has been drawn to the handover of the chairmanship of FIRS on acting capacity to Mr. Abiodun Aina on Monday December 9 2019.

“This was a clear departure from the Presidential directive on the handover as he (Aina) is not the most senior director.

“Mr Abiodun Aina in the first instance does not have the basic qualifications to be employed into the Service. Secondly, his appointment to the position of Coordinating Director was against the provision of Section 2.19 of the FIRS Human Resource Policies and Processes.”

According to the section “Appointment to the post of the Coordinating Director shall be made by the board on the recommendations of the executive chairman. The appointment shall be open to all confirmed directors of the Service and it shall be competitive based on experience, competence and seniority.”

The union added that Aina was a Senior Special Assistant to Fowler and was never a director in the service.

Therefore, the union said if by Friday the situation was not reversed, it would no longer guarantee industrial harmony at the service.

“If by the close of work on Friday, 13th December, no action is taken to this effect, the union will no longer guarantee further industrial harmony in the system.”