Solomon Ighrakpata, Delta’s New Czar

By Giovanni Emephia

There is no doubt that the fundamental purpose of governments all over the world is the welfare and security of the people. Welfare and Security are all-embracing terms that include delivering the dividends of democracy to citizens, as well as the fulfillment of electoral promises to the people.

A democratic government, such as we practice in Nigeria, especially in party politics, is usually elected on the strength of a manifesto, which is the articulated list of benefits which the people would enjoy should they vote a particular political party into power. This, in the local political parlance, is what is referred to as dividends of democracy.

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These dividends include, but are not limited to, social amenities, public infrastructure like roads and bridges, guaranteeing peace and security as well as all issues pertaining to socio-economic and political stability.

The natural question that would arise is how government can meet the cost of providing these amenities, infrastructure, health and educational services, human capital development and guaranteeing peace and stability in the socio-political system, for these are essentially the exclusive responsibilities of government, as they require huge capital outlay with limited opportunities for raising such funds.

In the often fluid and unstable economic situation in which Nigeria is currently struggling with, experts believe that the most dependable source of funding for the government is taxation. It is against this backdrop that the recent appointment of Chief Solomon Ighrakpata as Chairman, Delta State Internal Revenue Service becomes critical.

The ability of any government to deliver on its mandate and maintain legitimacy is to a large extent dependent on a vibrant tax system. Taxation covers a wide range of human activities; and to be able to get maximum benefits, an efficient and effective tax administration system is critical. This is because unless taxation is properly and professionally administered, its purpose will be defeated, making the government to fail and the people disappointment.

Luckily, the new helmsman at the Delta State Internal Revenue Service is not a stranger to tax administration. Chief Solomon Ighrakpata was a member of the Board of the Revenue Service from 2015 to 2018, from where he resigned to contest the Uvwie State Constituency seat of the Delta State House of Assembly.

While on the board of the Revenue Service, Ighrakpata was the head of its enforcement task force which was responsible for enforcing relevant task laws, and ensuring that task defaulters paid their due taxes to the State government. His diligence as chairman and chief motivator of the task force resulted in great improvement in revenue receipts for the State during that period.

A native of Effurun and a Chief of the respected Uvwie kingdom, Ighrakpata, calm, astute and dependable, represented the people of Uvwie at the Delta State House of Assembly from 2019 to 2023, where he was Chairman, House Committee on Special Duties, and Deputy Chairman, Public Accounts Committee in the seventh Assembly.

Hon. Solomon Ighrakpata is a Fellow, Certified National Accountants, FCNA, Associate member, Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria, and Fellow, Nigerian Institute of Management, NIM. His appointment is a reflection of the proverbial ’round peg in a round hole’.

With a background in accounting, taxation and management, the job of tax administration in Delta State is expected to receive the needed boost in terms of injection of new ideas, innovations, increasing the use of technology in driving tax administration, increased tax education and awareness, as well as a leadership style that encourages staff to give their all for the achievement of corporate objectives.

Tax Administration is not for the fainthearted. Chief Solomon Ighrakpata fully understands the critical role of revenue generation as a fundamental ingredient in achieving the State Governors M.O.R.E Agenda, which is structured to ensure continuity of the developmental legacies of the Okowa administration. The M.O.R.E Agenda means ‘Meaningful development Opportunity for all Deltans, Realistic Reforms and Enhanced peace and Security in the State’.

The Oborevwori Administration seeks to utilize the M.O.R.E addenda as a vehicle to entrench such indices of development as quality education and health care services, road and bridge infrastructure, development in the transportation and housing sectors, creation of new cities, rural development, urban regeneration, amongst a host of other development objectives,

The Delta State Internal Revenue Service has always been a key development partner with the State government in its desire to improve the welfare of citizens of the state through generating revenue to actualize the government’s development agenda.

Under Hon. Ighrakpata, this partnership is expected to deepen by consolidating on the policy thrusts of the previous board in order to achieve, and even surpass, the almost N130 Billion revenue target for 2023.