Babatunde Fowler

Babatunde Fowler
Born	(1956-08-12) August 12, 1956 Nigeria
Occupation(s)	Government official, tax expert, advocate for social change
Known for	Executive chairman of Lagos State Board of Internal Revenue, CEO of Lagos State Internal Revenue Service, former executive chairman of Federal Inland Revenue Service

Babatunde Fowler (born 12 August 1956) is a Nigerian government official, tax expert, and advocate for social change. He held the position of executive chairman at the Lagos State Board of Internal Revenue and was the chief executive officer of the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service. Additionally, Fowler previously led the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) as its executive chairman.

Career

The enactment of the Lagos State Revenue Administration Law in January 2006 granted autonomy and financial independence to the Board of Internal Revenue. Subsequently, Fowler was named the inaugural CEO of the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service and took on the role of executive chairman of the Board. During his tenure, Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) experienced substantial growth, rising from an average monthly figure of ₦3.6 billion in 2006 to exceeding ₦20.5 billion per month by 2014.

Advocacy

Fowler emphasizes the importance of diversifying Nigeria's revenue sources away from oil, pointing out how reliance on oil income adversely affects both federal and subnational government budgets during periods of revenue decline. To foster early tax education, he established a student competition sponsored by his board that rewards participants with monetary prizes and scholarships.