By Emmanuel Acha

Enugu  –  Enugu State Government has approved the recruitment of additional 30 members of staff for the Board of Internal Revenue (BIR).

The Commissioner for Information, Dr Godwin Udeuhele, made the disclosure when he briefed newsmen on the outcome of the executive council meeting held on Wednesday night.

Udeuhele said that the move was to energies the board to achieve its target.

He said that the recruitment which would be jointly executed by the board and the state civil service would be carried out immediately.

“Approval has been given for the recruitment of 30 people that will be posted to the BIR to enhance the realisation of their objectives and increase the revenue base of the state.

“This approval was sequel to the request by the chairman of the board who complained of lack of adequate manpower as the major challenge of the BIR,” he said.

Udeuhele said that the chairman of the board had at resumption met a dilapidating work environment, including obsolete equipment and infrastructure.

He said that the revenue boss had identified the prevailing circumstance as antithetical to the attainment of their set goals.

“This request by the board, which was as a result of what they met on ground, gave rise to the renovation of the revenue building and now they are doing well.

“The building has been completed and new equipment acquired which would be deployed to different sections of the office to minimise revenue leakage.

“Unfortunately, majority of the staff are either retiring or lack requisite computer knowledge,” he said.

Udeuhele said that the employment would inject the right mix of people, including fresh graduates, in order to disabuse the psyche of the staffers from the practice of old.

“The employment is civil service-based, not contract and the qualifications will vary depending on the specifications. But one thing is sure; they will be sound in computer and accounting,” he said.

The commissioner said that the BIR would be responsible for the shortlisting of the applicants and would in turn forward same to the office of the Head of Service for further action.

“The board will shortlist the applicants and send their names to the head of service for interview and selection of successful candidates,” he said.

Udeuhele said that the council had approved the participation of the state in the stabilisation fund of the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMFAC).

He said that the facility was newly created by the commission to augment statutory allocations to states in the face of dwindling economic fortune.

“This fund is a support facility newly created by RMFAC to fund specific projects in the states due to decline in allocation.

“The memo did not carry the full details of the maximum or minimum figures to be applied for.

“With this approval permission has been given for our state to go for this facility like others and get something more than what we have been getting,” he said.

Udeuhele said that there were specific projects which state governments might not have the capacity to execute due to the drop in allocation.

He said that with the current intervention by the commission execution of such projects would be possible.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the current move is part of efforts for the board to meet its monthly target of two billion Naira as contained in the 2017 budget.