Babatunde Fowler turned 70 on Wednesday, August 12, marking the milestone with a Thanksgiving Service at the Redeemed Christian Church of God, GRA Ikeja, attended by Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu alongside family, friends, and associates.
Fowler built his reputation as pioneer Chief Executive Officer of the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service, where he led the transition of the old Board of Internal Revenue into an autonomous, self-accounting body between 2006 and 2014.
The numbers from that period remain striking. Lagos State’s monthly internally generated revenue grew from around N3.6 billion to over N20.5 billion under his watch, driven by automated banking networks and electronic tax certificates that closed long-standing leakages.
That record carried him to Abuja. President Muhammadu Buhari appointed him Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service in 2015, a position he held until 2019, steering the agency through a period of volatile oil prices.
At FIRS, Fowler pushed hard for non-oil revenue diversification, automating corporate tax processes nationwide and outsourcing administrative functions so staff could concentrate on auditing and collection rather than paperwork.
His influence eventually extended beyond Nigeria’s borders. He was elected chairman of the African Tax Administration Forum, coordinating tax agencies across 36 African countries, and later took on advisory roles with the Pan-African Parliament.
Before entering public service in 2004, Fowler spent two decades in banking, managing corporate operations and business development for major commercial institutions, a foundation that influenced his later approach to revenue administration.
At the Thanksgiving Service, Sanwo-Olu described Fowler as a worthy ambassador of Lagos State and Nigeria, crediting his leadership as a tax administrator and manager of resources at both state and federal levels.
The governor’s tribute closed with a prayer for good health and longevity, a fitting note for a career spent building the systems that now anchor much of Nigeria’s fiscal architecture.