President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Dr William Babatunde Fowler as the executive chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).

A statement by the special adviser to the president on media and publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, stated that “Fowler is to serve as the acting executive chairman of the FIRS until his appointment is confirmed by the Senate.”

Fowler is replacing a former coordinating director at the agency, Samuel Odugbesan, who was appointed to the position by the former president, Goodluck Jonathan, in March this year.

He was the chief executive officer/executive chairman of the Lagos State Board of Internal Revenue from 2005 to 2014.

The presidential spokesman also announced that President Buhari has appointed Mr Aliyu Yahaya Gusau as director-general, Budget Office of the Federation.

“Gusau’s appointment is with effect from August 18, 2015, and is for a term of four years, renewable for another four years unless he attains the retirement age of 60 years or completes 35 years of pensionable service,” Adesina stated.

The new FIRS boss, Fowler had his higher education in the United States of America where he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Wisconsin and a Master of Business Administration degree from the California State University. Before joining the service of the Lagos State Government, he worked in the banking sector for about 20 years with long stints at Credit Lyonnais Nigeria Limited and Chartered Bank.

Under his leadership, the Lagos State Board of Internal Revenue reportedly achieved a sharp increase in internally generated revenue from an average of N3.6. billion per month in January 2006, to an average of about N20.5 billion per month in 2013.

Fowler, who holds an Honorary Doctorate Degree of the Irish International University, is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria and the Business Management Association of the United Kingdom.