After 11 months in office as Chairman, Lagos Board of Internal Revenue and Chief Executive, Lagos Internal Revenue Service (LIRS), Mr. Olufolarin Ogunsanwo, has been sacked from office.
Like a human giraffe, sniffing down his nostril at mortals beneath his gaze, Olufolarin Ogunsanwo, the beleaguered boss of the money-spinning Lagos Inland Revenue Service (LIRS), in the first few months of Governor Ambode administration, affected the poise of a beautiful bride. He paraded himself as the nearest thing beyond a tin-god so much so that friends, political associates worshipped the ground upon which he walked; albeit reluctantly.
Eventually, like all man-made deities, Olufolarin stopped resembling a ‘god’ or something like one and he was forced to resigned as the head honcho of LIRS and has been replaced with APC chieftain, Chief Bisi Akande’s daughter, Bolaji Akintola.
The suddenness of his descent down the ladder of eminence and acclaim dealt a fatal blow to his psyche; Folarin couldn’t just deal with the fact that he had lost worth like the fast fading smile of a cosmic Cheshire cat.
However, his ugly fate couldn’t be helped by his political godfather, Tinubu; and that is because he happens to be the force behind Governor Ambode’s sweeping whirlwind.
An internal memo communicating Ogunsanwo's departure from the revenue-collection agency dressed up his exit "retirement." Dated 26 August and signed by J. Aina, Board Secretary, the memo told staff that Ogunsanwo was proceeding on retirement from 25 August and had handed over to Mrs. Akintola Bolaji, Director, Tax Audit.
The memo, however, was not offering the staff information that they did not have. It has become clear to them since early July that Ogunsanwo, who boasted on appointment that he would double the state's internally generated revenue, was not going to be in the seat for much longer. Sources in the LIRS said Ogunsanwo could not account for about N4. 2 billion was belonging to the agency.
This was said to have earned him a query from Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, who was not impressed with Ogunsanwo's response. He was told to proceed on compulsory leave pending the conclusion of investigations into the sun unaccounted for.
During the investigation, Ogunsanwo, disclosed sources, refunded the sum of N1.2 billion. His decision to cooperate with the investigators, explained sources, was a major reason the government spared him the embarrassment of being exposed.
Ogunsanwo succeeded Mr. Tunde Fowler, who was appointed Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). Shortly after resuming office, he took an axe to the structure inherited from his predecessor, sacking many top staff hired by Fowler.
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