From David Onuoja, Abuja
The move by the Senate to establish Chartered Institute of Revenue and Fiscal Management, suffered a set back on Thursday when some stakeholders in the Taxation, Revenue generating, collecting and regulating the Sector, kicked against the establishment of the said Chartered Institute.
A strident opposition against the move by the Senate came to the fore, during the public hearing on the matter to establish the bill for the proposed Institute which was organised by its joint committee on Finance, Establishment and Public Service.
First to kick against the bill titled : “Chattered Institute of Revenue and Fiscal Management of Nigeria ( Establishment) Bill 2025”, was the Auditor General of the Federation, Mr Shaakaa Chira, who urged the Senate to come up with legislation that will strengthen the regulatory powers of existing professional bodies rathan than creating new ones.
According to him, “emphasis should be on strengthening existing Institutes and not establishing new ones to avoid Institutional duplication”, he said.
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Making a similar submission, the President – Elect of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria ( ICAN), Queensley Seghosime, equally opposed the bill by saying, the proposed institute would create institutional rivalry in the sector and regulatory fragmentation.
Her own word: “ICAN has gone through the proposed legislation and strongly sees it to be unnecessary because proliferation of professional bodies weakens standardization”, she said.
Similarly, the representative of Chartered Institute of Treasury Management ( CITM), Titilayo Fowokan, also kicked against the proposed legislation, pointing out that, the joint committee should halt the process.
“Having gone through the draft copy of the proposed legislation for establishment of new Institute to be saddled with revenue and fiscal management, and having discovered the inherent lapses in it, CITM urged the Senate not to proceed on with the legislation to the stage of third reading”, she said.
Also in his submission at the public hearing, Dr Yemi Sani of Network of Maletax Practitioners of Nigeria, told the Senate to step down the establishment for the proposed institute which according to him, will amount to policy inconsistencies if established.
However, some other stakeholders like the institute of Revenue Management and Research ( IRMR) and Fiscal Responsibility Commission ( FRC) among others, supported the proposed legislation.
Earlier in his speech at the public hearing, the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, represented by the Senate Minority Whip, Tony Nwoye (Anambra North), said the legislation was designed to institutionalize professionalism, strengthen ethical standards, promote continuous capacity development, and provide policy advisory support in the vital sector.
Also in his remarks at the beginning of the session, the Chairman of the Joint Committee, Senator Sani Musa, who was represented by Senator Adamu Aliero, explained that the Bill seeks to establish the Chartered Institute of Revenue and Fiscal Management of Nigeria as a professional body responsible for regulating, promoting, and advancing standards in revenue and fiscal management practice across the country.
