Everything appeared hitch free soon after Akinwunmi Ambode assumed office, but sooner had he tasted power than the corruption which accompanies exalted offices got the better of the Epe born former governor. In his wisdom, he felt the bridge which paved the way for him to occupy a power hub was not needed, so he burnt it. The rest may be history for Ambode as far as politics is concerned or so it seems. It appears Ambode’s troubles were waning when the Osinbajo whirlwind started, leaving a lot on the table for the godfather of Lagos politics.
Tinubu no doubt played a huge role in the formation of the All Progressives Congress (APC), a party that dislodged the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which until 2015 had held on to power for sixteen years. His effort didn’t go unnoticed as he was rewarded with the choice of who to pick as the running mate to President Muhammadu Buhari in the election that brought him into power in 2015.
Tinubu didn’t only have the choice of making his Former Commissioner of Justice, Yemi Osinbajo a Vice President; he also got the honour of influencing the appointment of then Chairman of Lagos Inland Revenue Service, Babatunde Fowler as Chairman of Federal Inland Revenue Service when Buhari came on board.
Just like the Vice President, who is being ‘hounded’ for many corruption cases, Babatunde Fowler, another protégé of Former Governor of Lagos State is not being spared. In August, a letter from the presidency, signed by the President’s Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari was leaked to media. In the letter, Fowler was queried over the inability of FIRS under his watch to meet its revenue targets for 4 years running.
Worried by the decline, the President through Abba Kyari queried Fowler over the discrepancies in tax collections from 2015-2018.
While Fowler in his response to the query attributed the shortfalls to global fall in oil prices and the agency’s lack of control over oil revenue, sources said the leak of the Presidential memo was one amongst many plots to tame Tinubu’s men in power.
Even as the dust of poor performance was yet to be settled, a former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Timi Frank made a startling revelation about the FIRS Boss. Frank claimed in a statement that the embattled Vice President did mismanage N90 billion released by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) under the watch of Fowler to prosecute the last general elections in favour of the APC.
Fowler’s many troubles did not stop there; the agency under his watch is also being probed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged N1.2bn duty tour allowance fraud. The commission had in April, 2019, recovered part of the DTA allowance from the beneficiaries who refunded millions of naira. Head of the FIRS Coordinator Support Services Group, Peter Hena, who allegedly authorised the illegal payment and the agency’s Director of Finance, Mohammed Auta, has reportedly made revealing statements during investigation about how the DTA fraud was perpetrated.
Isn’t ironical, that what played out in Lagos, where the Former Governor of the State, Akinwunmi Ambode got entrapped and refused a second term by Tinubu’s henchmen is repeating itself at the Federal level. The situation in which the protégés of the Lagos Landlord are being ‘cut to size’ is suggestive of a lot more in unspoken terms. Ambode, aside being denied the second term ticket is also being probed by the EFCC over corruption allegation.
But it isn’t it amazing that the same Ambode is now being touted as possible replacement for Fowler who may not be considered for another term in office due to pervasive stench.
There’s no denying the fact that political re-alignment ahead of the 2023 elections has started and getting Ambode, who obviously isn’t happy with the Lagos Landlord to head the FIRS may be a clear pointer to the game plan.