Union tells FIRS to prioritise staff welfare in order to get maximum support

The Nigeria Civil Service Union (NCSU) members working with the Federal Inland Revenue Service on Friday urged the management of FIRS to priotise the welfare of staff as a way of getting maximum support as it strives to generate revenue to meet its targets.

Speaking in his opening remark at a seminar on Friday at Mararaba, in Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, Chairman of Nigeria Civil Service Union, FIRS unit, Comrade Hassan Abdulrahman Idris said, FIRS generated the sum of N4.178 trillion in 2020 amid coronavirus challenges because of the commitment of staff.

He lamented that staff of FIRS were not given palliative as was done to their colleagues in other agencies, insisting that staff morale was instrumental to maximum performance.

The seminar which was titled: “Staff Attitudinal Change as Basis for Revenue Generation”, according to the Chairman, would have been held last year but was aborted due to COVID-19 pandemic.

He said the topic of the seminar was carefully chosen because of government’s effort at diversifying the economy.

He said: “The performance on our collection is not bad as some people may think because recently the Executive Chairman in one of his functions said, FIRS raked in the total sum of N4.178 trillion as revenue out of personnel target of N4.239 trillion, about 96.6% of the revenue goal for 2020.”

“There is how any management can rise above the ability and efficiency of its staff.

“We chose this topic for the seminar because of diversification in revenue generation from oil to non-oil.

“Federal Government of Nigeria expect much from the Federal Inland.Revenue Service (FIRS) to deliver on the set target.

“It is therefore imperative for the Nigeria Civil Service Union to charge our dedicated and committed colleagues throughout the country to imbibe the culture that will be geared towards the realisation of FIRS mandate.”

He noted that FIRS is a strategic revenue-generating agency of government that must not slack in human capital development through training and retraining at home and abroad, adding that other agencies that gave priority attention to the training of their staff abroad tended to do better in their mandate.

“To buttress my point, our counterparts in other agencies are often sponsored abroad for either seminar or training and this sometimes makes us inferior or second hand.

“So our unit is challenging and appealing to the Council to improve on our condition to enable FIRS to get more.”

Reacting, FIRS Tax Controller, an assistant Director, Aminu Samaila assured members of the union that the new management under Muhammad Nami holds all staff with regard, noting that in the last one year he resumed as Chairman, he has paid statutory entitlements of staff in bulk.

According to him, Nami operates an open door policy and is always ready to meet with the union to dialogue on issues when the need arises.