Arewa youth group and attack on FIRS boss

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Ordinarily, the campaign by Arewa Consultative Youth Movement on an ambiguous, spurious, and veiled scraggy allegation for which they are asking Federal Inland Revenue Service Chairman, Zacch Adedeji, to step aside for the investigation of his unstated lifestyle should be ignored. It can at best be a level of economic sabotage in Nigeria, given the sterling performance of the country’s head of the revenue service.

Had they outlined any offence Adedeji committed to warrant or justify their call, one would have been assuaged, but no. The movement took an action akin to one hiding behind a finger, which has made it obvious that theirs is a sponsored campaign of calumny against a resourceful, cerebrally adroit man who is navigating Nigeria out of financial doldrums.

How come that of all the problems of Nigeria, it is the most vibrant and working sector that they have chosen to attack, a sector that has awakened Nigeria’s senses to how we can stop borrowing to fund our country, taking the country back to a progressive tax system that protects the financially weak, that the movement has singled out for attack?

This is the man who has instituted reforms in the tax system, plugged leakages and has awakened the country to how to generate funds to seamlessly run the economy. Truth is that an attack on Adedeji is an attack on the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu because the economic programme of this administration is receiving support from the revenue service.

Under him, the FIRS has been meeting and surpassing targets as the upper limit benchmark, at the same time enhancing the welfare of staff in a way that has boosted staff morale. He started the reformation that changed the FIRS and has crafted the new tax laws for the country, which do not call for the vilification.

The right question to ask is who is behind the Arewa Youth Movement and the funding of this campaign of calumny? Our security agencies should, as a matter of utmost urgency, investigate those behind it, as they qualify as enemies of the state.

Adedeji has been so good at his game that Nigeria is generating so much that the pressure on our external reserve has ebbed, leading to the increase of an all-time high $45bn thereby building global confidence in doing business with Nigeria. The ripple effects of his performance are touching positively on the economy, that it is foolhardy for any discerning Nigerian not to notice.

Patriotic Nigerians are in the best position to know who is working in government and those who are not, since many of them monitor in real time all agencies and ministries as well as the government, and know better that the Movement goofed and should retrace their steps unless they are shamelessly queueing behind those eternally committed to stagnating the country.

Summing up what Adedeji has done in two years, he has been superlative in performance and needs no distraction so he can concentrate and finish his good works. Those desiring to take over the service from him should wait for him to run his term and spare us the unnecessary nibbling by sponsoring organisations to issue empty statements.

Aderonke Atoyebi, the Technical Assistant on Broadcast Media to the Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service, writes from Abuja

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