The Guardian Economic Forum Series on Tax 2016

Mr. William Babatunde Fowler is the current Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service and Chairman, Joint Tax Board. He studied in the United States of America at the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater, where he obtained his first Bachelors’ Degree with a Bachelor of Science in Economics and a minor in Political Science in 1978. He completed a second Bachelors’ Degree program at California State University, Los Angeles and also a Master of Business Administration degree program at California State University, Dominguez Hills in 1981.

His working career started in the United States with Avon Products Inc and thereafter Johnson and Johnson from where he transferred to Johnson and Johnson Nigeria. He made a career change from International Finance and Marketing to Banking where he had a distinguished career of over 20 years, first with Commercial Bank (Credit Lyonnais Nigeria Limited) and thereafter with Chartered Bank, where he rose to the position of General Manager before resigning in 2004 to take up his first public sector appointment as the pioneer Permanent Secretary/ Executive Chairman of the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS).

Mr. Fowler reformed the LIRS and led it to achieve an increase in internally generated revenue from an average of N3.6 Billion monthly as at January 2006 to an average of over N23 Billion monthly as at June, 2015 (the highest by any State in the country). In recognition of his impressive performance as Executive Chairman, LIRS, he was appointed Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service and Chairman Joint Tax Board by His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR on 18th August, 2015 to drive the change agenda of the new administration in the tax sector. Since his appointment, his leadership of the FIRS has begun to show results as there has been a significant increase in the number of registered taxpayers, increased focus on value added tax and withholding tax compliance and the use of technology to improve tax compliance and collection. In addition to these steps, Mr. Fowler is driving other initiatives to raise N4.9 trillion in tax collection for 2016.

Mr. Fowler is a recipient of various awards and recognitions, which include Honorary Senior Member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria and a Fellowship ‘Honoris Causa’ by the Certified Board of Administrators of Nigeria. He is also a Fellow of both the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria and Business Management Association (UK).

Oluseye Arowolo is a Tax Partner with Akintola Williams Deloitte.  Akintola Williams Deloitte was established in 1952 by Mr. Akintola Williams, the Doyen of accountancy in Nigeria and first African to qualify as a chartered accountant.  Akintola Williams Deloitte provides audit, tax, consulting and financial advisory services to public and private clients spanning multiple industries.  It is a member of a global network that is available in more than 150 countries.

Prior to joining Akintola Williams Deloitte as Partner, he was a Senior Manager in KPMG’s Tax Group, having joined the defunct Arthur Andersen as a Consultant in April 2000.  He was variously Experienced Consultant, Manager and Senior Manager at Andersen/KPMG.

He was best graduating student at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife in 1997 and started his career as a litigator with Messrs Idowu Sofola & Co.  A PTDF Scholar, he obtained his LLM (with Distinction) in Energy Law and Policy in 2004 from the University of Dundee’s prestigious Center for Energy, Petroleum, Mineral Law and Policy (CEPMLP).  Seye is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (ACTI), Member Nigerian Bar Association, and Fellow Center for International Legal Studies, Austria.

Seye’s deep experience spans the entire tax spectrum, including:

-Tax dispute resolution;
-Regulatory and tax due diligence;
-Tax audit and investigation management;
-Regulatory and tax compliance review;
-Tax structuring and strategy formulation
-Strategic liaison and representation with regulatory authorities;
-Tax and regulatory advisory; and
-Contract review and drafting for tax and regulatory efficiency.

As a prolific writer, Seye has more than 20 publications in international journals on tax and regulatory matters across the different sectors of the Nigerian economy.  He has attended and also facilitated at several international and local training programmes on tax and regulatory matters.

He is the Eminence Leader for Akintola Williams Deloitte Tax Function and in this capacity co-ordinate and champions the participation of Deloitte tax professionals at tax seminars, workshops, conferences and other tax-related events, publications in newsletters and other media platforms.  He is the Principal Editor of the Deloitte sponsored column, InsideTax, published weekly in the Guardian newspapers every Monday.

In his leisure, Oluseye loves to spend time with his family, watch football, offering commentary on societal issues and mentoring young entrepreneurs.  He is happily married to Patience Nididi-Amaka and are blessed with children

Theo is widely acknowledged as one of Nigeria’s leading tax practitioners. His tax advisory profile spans across all types of income taxes as well as capital gains tax, and indirect taxes such as VAT, sales tax, customs and excise duties, and stamp duty.

He is currently the chair of the Tax Committee of the Section on Business Law of the Nigerian Bar Association and a member of the Taxation Section of the IBA.

A fellow of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), Theo served as the vice chair of the Tax Law Review committee of the Institute. Also, he contributed the chapter on International Taxation in the first edition of CITN Nigerian Tax Guides and Statutes. He was formerly the deputy editor of the Nigerian Tax Notes.

Theo is admitted to practice law in England and Wales, Nigeria and Ghana.

He holds both a BSc (1979) and an MSc (1980) in engineering from Imperial College London, and is a member of Gray’s Inn, London.

Muda Yusuf is the Director General of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI). He has participated in various high level public policy advocacy dialogues at both the federal and state levels with the aim of fostering an enabling environment for investors in Nigeria.  As the CEO of a leading business association in Nigeria, and working in collaboration with similar organisations, some of the advocacy activities championed by him had resulted in impactful outcomes in the country’s fiscal, monetary and trade policies as well as regulatory reforms

Muda Yusuf has attended various prestigious courses, conferences and seminars both locally and internationally. He was a delegate to the Commonwealth Business Forum in Doha and Malta; and delegate to the world chambers congress in Doha and Turin.

He attended the Advanced Management Programme of the Lagos Business School, participated in the conference on Management of Business Associations in the United States and a member of delegation to the World Trade Organisation Ministerial Conference in Cancun, Mexico. He has served as resource person in several local and international conferences.

Muda Yusuf obtained B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Economics from the University of Ilorin and University of Lagos, respectively. He is a member of the Ikoyi Club and happily married with children.

Chief Mark Anthony Chidolue Dike is a seasoned tax administrator and Chartered Accountant. He obtained a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Economics from the University of Ife, (now Obafemi Awolowo University) Ile-Ife, in the present day, Osun State in June 1979. He also holds membership of both the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria. Dike has served in various capacities both within the Federal Inland Revenue Service and the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria as well as some other organisations.

Chief Dike was the Assistant Secretary(Technical) and  Secretary of the Federal Government Study Groups on the Review of Nigerian Tax System in 1991 and 2002/2003 respectively.

He also held the following positions:

• Secretary, Tax Laws Drafting Committee (Federal Inland Revenue Service) in 1992 ;
• Secretary, Drafting/Harmonisation Committee on Current Personal Income Tax Act in 1993;
• Member, Tax Laws Harmonisation & Codification Committee of the Federal Inland Revenue Service in 1995;
• Resource Person on Tax Audit and Investigation at the Commonwealth Tax Management Development Programme held in Accra, Ghana in August, 1995;
• Class President, Commonwealth Association of Tax Administrators (CATA) Regional Training Programme for Tax Inspectors(1992) and the Advancing Management Potentials(2007);
• He was also the Class President of the Inter Agency Training Programme on Financial Investigative Techniques for staff of the FIRS Special Investigation Branch, National Drugs Law and Enforcement Agency(NDLEA), Nigerian Police Force, INTERPOL and Surveillance Department of the Central Bank of Nigeria in November, 1999;
• In 1997, he was nominated by the management of the Federal Inland Revenue Service as an official expert on tax practice of the Federal Government of Nigeria;
• He was also the FIRS representative on the Steering Committee of the erstwhile Nigerian Accounting Standards Board which produced the Statement of Accounting Standards, SAS 19 on Accounting for Taxes in 1997.

• He has attended several courses locally and internationally. These include:
• Study Tour to United States Internal Revenue Service in Washington D.C. USA, from 25th – 26th March, 2009,
• Comparative Tax Policy and Administration at Harvard Kennedy School Executive Education Programme from 20th June – 1st July, 2011 among others.
• He was also a co-opted member of the Sub Committee on Transfer Pricing of the United Nations Experts Committee on International Cooperation in Tax Matters, 2011/2012.

Chief Dike has a wealth of experience spanning over three decades in the Federal Inland Revenue Service where he was at various times in the Broad Street Area Tax Office, the erstwhile biggest field office where he cut his teeth in tax administration, Tax Audit, Special Investigations, Oil and Gas, and Tax Policy and Legislation Department.

Before his election as the 11th President of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria in June, 2013, he had rendered services to the Institute including amongst others, Chairman of Students Affairs and Examinations as well as Annual Tax Conference Committees, Dean of International Taxation & Treaties as well as Oil, Gas and Solid Minerals Faculties including being the Secretary of the Institute’s Tax Laws Review Committee. Before becoming the  Deputy Vice President and Vice President in 2009 and 2011 respectively, he had been a member of the Executive Committee (EXCO) of Council since 2003.

In his capacity as the President of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria, he also doubled as the Vice President of the West African Union of Tax Institutes(WAUTI) until 10th April,2015 when he became the President of the same body. He relinquished this office on the expiration of his tenure as the President of CITN on the 4th of June, 2015 in accordance with the Charter and Constitution of both the CITN and WAUTI respectively. Currently, apart from being the Immediate Past President of CITN, he also doubles as the Coordinating Dean of the Faculties of the Institute.

Chief Dike, until his retirement from service in April, 2014, was the Technical Adviser on Taxation to the Acting Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service. He is a devout catholic, married with children and considers service as his watchword and from all ramifications, Dike can be described in two words “Quiet Achiever” who never ceases to impress in any position or responsibility assigned to him. This is evident from the excerpts from a commendation letter by Mr. John Hudson, the Course Director, Advancing Management Potentials Programme of the Commonwealth Association of Tax Administrators in 2007, as follows :

“I am writing … to thank you for your exceptionally influential contribution to the most successful program I have seen. You have borne the burden of leading the group with good humour, discretion and a light touch and it has been noticeable how you have derived your authority from natural leadership qualities rather than seniority. Your poise at all times and your dignity, calm and assurance at times of pressure have been an example to everyone. Above all perhaps, you have clearly demonstrated that an individual can provide excellent, surefooted leadership to a group of strangers from all over the world with good humour and quiet authority. But that individual must have real talent and inner strength in abundance…”

Rotimi Omotoso is Registrar/Chief Executive Officer of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN). Prior to his appointment in May 2013, Mr. Omotoso was in practice as a Certified Public Accountant and financial advisor in the US with more than 27 years of financial management, controllership, business development, and leadership experience in public accounting, commercial banking, financial planning, industry, and government.
Mr. Omotoso spent 10 years working and consulting for Fortune 100 corporations, including American Express Financial Advisors, Verizon Wireless Treasury, as well as the State Accounting Office of Georgia, Atlanta. In recognition of his excellent service, he received the American Express Advisor Mercury Award in 2004 and in 2013 was recognized for five years of faithful service by the State of Georgia.
Mr. Omotoso started his career with Akintola Williams Deloitte, where he received his initial accounting training starting with national youth service in 1985. He also had an almost twelve-year career with Ecobank PLC, where he served as financial controller and deputy general manager/head of commercial banking.
Mr. Omotoso was admitted a chartered accountant in January 1986 and received his CPA license from Georgia, United States of America. He was educated at the Polytechnic, Ibadan and holds an MBA degree from Obafemi Awolowo University as well as a certificate in state financial management from Carl Vinson Institute of Government at the University of Georgia. He is an alumnus of Lagos Business School Advanced Management Program (AMP14); a member of the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA); a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria; a fellow Chartered Institute of Taxation and a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria.
Mr. Omotoso has served as a technical advisor on the board of International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) since 2014 and he is a frequent speaker at leadership, ethics and professional development workshops across the world.