The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), in partnership with Afropolitan Media Organisation, has trained 60 Kaduna state-based media practitioners on tax administration in Nigeria.
The training took place on Tuesday in Kaduna.
In her welcome remarks, the Managing Director of Afropolitan Media Limited, Aisha Haliru, said the workshop was organised with the aim to bring the media practitioners up to date on current challenges faced by tax authorities of revenue-collecting agencies.
She explained that the training is important for the media to enable practitioners adequately report these challenges ethically and responsibly in close collaboration with the FIRS and other tax bodies at the sub-national levels and for the education of the tax-paying public.
In his paper presentation, titled “Understanding the rudiments and importance of taxation in Nigeria for media practitioners”, Mr Ajibola Ibrahim, who is the resource person at the workshop, said some organisations are established for tax collection, adding that tax as a compulsory levy established by law is to be collected for a purpose.
According to him, tax is not just a civil responsibility, but also a legal responsibility of the citizens while noting that taxation contributes to revenue generation of government and for nations’ development.
He also called on media practitioners to continue to play their roles in reporting responsibly the activities of the FIRS and what they do for the country.
Also speaking at the event, the Chairman of Correspondents’ Chapel, NUJ Kaduna, AbdulGafar Alabelewe, described the workshop as timely, adding that it would go a long way in educating journalists more on issues around tax generation and administration in Nigeria.
According to him, “as journalists, we have the important responsibility of educating the citizens on governance and development. Tax revenues are very important to governance and development, but many citizens still see taxation as the government cheating them.
“This is the reason this workshop is very important because journalists have been reminded of their responsibility to educate the public about the various taxes and how the government applies those taxes to drive development.
“I, therefore, charge journalists to make use of the knowledge gathered to enlighten the Nigerian citizens that their responsibilities do not just stop at electing political leaders, they also need to pay tax.
“This will enable the government they have elected to work and deliver development projects they have promised them,” he said.
