The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), in collaboration with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), has held a stakeholders’ engagement forum to interact on ways of improving payment timelines and report back to them how taxpayer monies have been expended to achieve its mandate of implementing relevant policies and developing and regulating information technology for sustainable development.
The purpose of the engagement forum was to allow stakeholders to evaluate what has been achieved so far with taxpayer monies and also to appeal for prompt payment of relevant levies for the agency to fast-track the realization of critical developments in the digital economy sector.
The event afforded participants, drawn from both beneficiaries of the levy and taxpayers, including Telecommunications Companies (Telcos), Pension Managers and Pension-Related Companies, Cyber Companies, Insurance Companies, Banks, and Other Financial Institutions, the opportunity to share ideas and reexamine the concept and prospects of taxation.
In his presentation, the Director-General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa, CCIE, enumerated the agency’s achievements from inception to date and explained the Nigerian IT ecosystem in general, highlighting the challenges and potentials therein.
Inuwa noted that the agency’s National Digital Skills Strategy Implementation is geared towards achieving 95% digitally literate Nigerians by 2030, and he mentioned opportunities that include training one million developers to potentially generate $20 billion annually.
The DG further stated that the initiative will increase foreign inflow to Nigeria while closing the global projected 85 million talent deficit and US$8.5 trillion in unrealized revenues by 2030.
Speaking on Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy Strategy Implementation, Inuwa stressed that the roadmap for the adoption of AI will tap into the $13 trillion global market by 2030.
“We have some flagship initiatives and projects that we believe can help us capture value; one of such is building and hatching talents because, according to research, by 2030, there is going to be an 85 million global talent deficit, making talent a huge industry itself.”
“So, we are working towards making Nigeria position itself as the world’s talent factory, exporting our brains and providing a talented workforce for you to render services for your establishments, Nigeria, the continent, and the world at large,” the DG expounded.
Inuwa reiterated the need for continuous collaborations for higher productivity; according to him, “no one can whistle a symphony; it takes a whole orchestra to play it.” We believe in teamwork and we know there are things we can do as a government that you cannot do as a private sector and vice versa, but together nothing is impossible. That’s why we are here: to forge a common front of working together, co-creating the ecosystem, and ensuring prosperity for all.
The NITDA boss also elucidated the key focus of the agency, particularly the implementation of the Nigeria Start-up Act, completion of the National Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre, the National Data Strategy Implementation, adoption of blockchain technology, and implementation of the National Digital Skills Strategy, among others.
“As we look to the future, NITDA is committed to sustaining the momentum, leveraging emerging technologies, developing policies and strategies that promote digital transformation, and creating an enabling environment for startups and entrepreneurs to thrive.”
“We believe that with you all, we can build a more prosperous Nigeria—a country that is at the forefront of Africa’s digital economy and a nation that can compete globally,” Inuwa assured.
In his keynote address, the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Muhammad Nami, commended NITDA for the introduction of technology in the tax collection and payment processes, which he noted has positively impacted taxpayers and the government’s ability to deliver social goods, critical infrastructure, and other necessary services.
Mr. Nami, who was represented by the Service’s Lead, General Tax Operations Group, Kabiru Abba, revealed that FIRS collected and remitted the sum of N22,574,099,600.06 in 2022, and the total sum collected by FIRS on behalf of the Agency from 2008 to December 2022 is N168,847,118,268.22.
He said it is important to showcase the achievements of NITDA, particularly as taxpayers can easily make a connection between the taxes paid and their socio-economic impact, which will also assist in improving voluntary compliance.
“FIRS, for instance, is continuously implementing initiatives that are principally driven by the use of information technology, and many of such initiatives have been successfully implemented, including the recently introduced Electronic Tax Clearance Certificate (ETCC),” he added.
Nami further noted that NITDA collection has also shown a significant improvement, as the highest collection recorded thus far was in 2022 at N22,574,099,600.06, affirming that FIRS is a key partner of NITDA and that the service assists in the assessment, collection, and accounting for the agency’s revenue, as stated in Section 16 of the NITDA Act (2007).
He also assured NITDA of continuous support to achieve its mandate, emphasizing that the support is important as IT plays a vital role in the operations of the service and ensuring increased revenue for the nation.
Awards for outstanding performance to NITDEF were also presented to the Executive Chairman of FIRS, Muhammad Nami, and others while certificates were also presented to stakeholders.
