By 9japarrot
The Tax Appeal Tribunal (TAT), Lagos Zone, and the Nigerian legal community recorded a major institutional milestone over the weekend as prominent professionals were conferred with honorary awards for their meritorious service to fiscal jurisprudence and legal education.
The recognitions were presented on Saturday during the 2026 Annual Tax Week Dinner and Award Night hosted by the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), Ilorin and District Society, held at Sinclair Hotels, Ilorin, which served as the grand finale of the institute’s week-long activities.
Among the frontline honorees was the Honourable Federal Commissioner (Member) of the Tax Appeal Tribunal, Lagos Zone, Panel 2, Prof. Abiola Ruth Adimula, who was presented with a special Recognition Award by the Kwara State Commissioner for Finance, Dr. Hauwa Nuru, before leading the official cutting of the dinner cake.
Similarly, renowned legal scholar, Professor Abiodun Amuda-Kannike, SAN, was honored with the Leadership Excellence Award for his outstanding contributions to constitutional jurisprudence and legal development, presented by the Director of Legal and Compliance at the Kwara State Internal Revenue Service (KW-IRS), Barrister Shehu Mogaji Abdullahi, flanked by the CITN District Chairman, Mr. Taofeek Alabi.
Speaking at the event, which coincided with National Tax Awareness Day, the Chairman of the CITN Ilorin and District Society, Mr. Taofeek Alabi, stated that celebrating these exceptional individuals underscores the institute’s commitment to promoting voluntary tax compliance through the acknowledgment of exemplary leadership and public service.
According to him, the timing of the awards holds significant strategic weight, coming exactly one year after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed the four landmark 2025 Tax Reform Bills into law—most notably, the Nigeria Tax Act (NTA) 2025 and the Nigeria Tax Administration Act (NTAA) 2025. He maintained that these legislative frameworks have fundamentally transitioned the nation’s financial architecture toward simplicity, fairness, and automated efficiency through mechanisms like the Electronic Fiscal System (EFS).
“Tonight, we take a timeout from the technicalities of audits, objections, and filings to do something vital: to say thank you. Through our Awards segment, we are recognizing institutions and individuals who have demonstrated exceptional compliance, visionary leadership, and unwavering support for the revenue growth of Kwara State and Nigeria at large. You are the proof that compliance is not a burden, but a vital civic contribution to building a self-sustaining society,” Alabi said.
The tax expert noted that recent field interactions during the society’s tax clinics across major Ilorin markets showed that while grassroots traders are eager to meet their civic obligations, they are simultaneously demanding greater transparency from the government on the utilization of collected revenues to enhance infrastructure and public utilities.
The dinner, which was opened with a welcome address by the Chairman of the Annual Tax Week Committee, Mrs. Idris Mulikat Abosede, also featured the presentation of the Prime Sponsor Award to Chief Dr. Oladunni Alaba Olarewaju of the Shao Kingdom by the Chairman alongside the Acting Provost of the College of Education (COED) Oro, Dr. Kadri Akogun.
Alabi concluded by expressing deep gratitude to the Executive Governor of Kwara State, Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, for fostering an enabling policy environment for fiscal administrative reforms to thrive at the subnational level, while urging all professional bodies to sustain grassroots enlightenment to further expand the informal sector’s tax base.
