Babatunde Fowler, the former chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, is said to have been summoned to appear before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
Wilson Uwujaren, EFCC spokesperson, confirmed this on Monday, November 2, 2020, but didn’t state the reason for the summon of the former chairman of FIRS.
Uwujare said, ‘He was invited to the commission and he responded today at our zonal office in Lagos.’
However, Mr. Fowler, a long-time ally of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the national leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress, had been challenged in 2015 for worsening tax revenues.
The President had queried him over insufficient tax collection since 2015 and has replaced him with Muhammad Nami, a tax consultant, as the new chairman of the tax agency.
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He was accused of the following: living lavishly, bankrolling extravagant parties and concerts in Lagos, creating poor corporate governance structures at the FIRS, poor audit at the FIRS, high handedness in office, diversion of funds, brazen corruption, and awarding contracts to stooges and cronies. All these allegations led to his removal from office by the Presidency.
Likewise, nine other senior officials of the agency were also detained by the EFCC over alleged multi-billion-naira fraud in 2019.