A state that wants to pay its bills promptly and embark on developmental projects for the citizens cannot depend solely on revenue from the Federation Account.

It is for this reason that Governor Gabriel Suswam of Benue State concluded that there was a need to have a robust internal revenue board. And realising that this could not be achieved without requisite human resource, Suswam, in January 2010, appointed a banker, Mr Andrew Ayabam as Chairman of the Benue State Board of Internal Revenue.

Since Ayabam’s appointment, the state has witnessed a remarkable improvement in internally generated revenue. It generated over N6 billion, exceeding its monthly target of N500 million in that year. How did the state achieve this feat?

First, the board needed legal teeth to operate and enforce its laws. In conjunction with other major stakeholders in the state, it drew up the Benue State Internal Revenue Service Law 2010, which the State House of Assembly passed into law. And Governor Suswam gave his assent to it on 2 November 2010. Apart from transforming the Benue State Board of Internal Revenue into the Benue State Internal Revenue Service, BIRS, the law granted the new organisation autonomy to review rates upward and boosted the capacity of its operators.

One year after the signing of the law, the BIRS has registered its conspicuous presence in the state. The most visible part of this transformation has been its movement from a few offices in the state secretariat to a big corporate headquarters on Gboko road in Makurdi. Although the property is on lease, its acquisition became necessary as a result of the growing activities of the service as well as the recruitment of numerous staff, most of them young graduates from the state.

BIRS has also substantially raised staff morale by reviewing salaries upward to motivate them in order to enhance efficiency. There has also been intensive staff training in-house, as well as within and outside the country. Benue is among the few states in Nigeria that have been consistently sending their staff to the mandatory three-month Joint Tax Board training as well as sending them for training and refresher courses on a regular basis. Most of these staff operates under a conducive atmosphere of well furnished, air-conditioned and computerised offices. They have also been provided with vehicles to enhance their mobility and performance.

To ensure maximum performance, biometric machines to monitor when staff report for duty and when they close have been installed at the corporate headquarters.

The management of BIRS has ensured that the system of manual, uncoordinated collection processes and procedures which obtained in the past was jettisoned. Existing offices across the state have been renovated while additional area offices have been established in Makurdi and other zones in the state.