Reports reaching our news medium indicate that Governor Hyacinth Alia is set to remove the Executive Chairman of the Benue State Internal Revenue Service (BIRS), Mr. Joseph Kwaghgba.
According to sources, the planned removal is not connected to any alleged incapacity, abuse of office, or administrative insubordination. Rather, it is aimed at fulfilling certain political commitments.
Sources further claim that Governor Alia is under pressure to replace the BIRS Chairman with someone loyal to one of his political stakeholders as part of an arrangement to secure support for his re-election bid in 2027.
It will be recalled that, during a recent media chat with members of the Presidential Media Corps at the Presidential Villa, the governor commended the BIRS Chairman, acknowledging that the agency’s improved revenue generation had contributed significantly to his administration’s development agenda in Benue State.
Similarly, within the past year, the Chairman has reportedly exceeded expectations in revenue generation by introducing innovation and technology-driven reforms that expanded the state’s tax net and improved tax administration.
Speaking on the reported development, Mr. Adakole Ajuji of Concerned Alert Nigeria (CAN) and Mr. Elijah Terhemba of Benue Resonate Agenda (BRA), both civil society organizations based in Benue State, described the BIRS Chairman as a competent administrator. They noted that, under his leadership, the agency’s staff have not been associated with widespread harassment of taxpayers.
The civil society groups appealed to Governor Alia to reconsider any planned removal of the Revenue Chairman, stressing that BIRS is a professional institution and should not be subjected to political considerations.
