Appolonia Adeyemi 
The Governing Council of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) has unanimously elected Mr. Innocent Chinyere Ohagwa as the President-elect of the Institute.
This was disclosed in a statement signed by the Registrar/Chief Executive of the Institute, Mrs. Afolake Oso, and made available to Saturday Telegraph in Lagos.
With this election, Ohagwa will succeed the incumbent President, Mr. Samuel Olushola Agbeluyi, whose two-year tenure ends on June 4, 2025, becoming the 17th President of the Institute.
Ohagwa, who currently serves as Vice President and Chairman of the Finance and General-Purpose Committee, is a seasoned tax administrator with over 35 years of experience.
He retired from the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) as the Coordinating Director of the Support Services Group.
He became an Associate Member of the Institute in 1990 and was elevated to Fellow status in 1999.
Since then, he has been actively involved in the activities of the Institute, serving as a facilitator for the Mandatory Professional Training Programme (MPTP), as well as various workshops and seminars.
Since his election to the Governing Council in June 2013, Ohagwa has held several key roles, including Chairman of the Publicity and Publication Committee, Vice Chairman of the Nigeria Taxation Standard Board, Chairman of the Investigation Panel, and Chairman of the Project Committee.
He also served as Honorary Treasurer from June 2019 to June 2021, Deputy Vice President and Chairman of Joint District Societies from June 2021 to June 2023, and currently, as Vice President and Chairman of the Finance and General Purposes Committee from June 2023 to June 2025.
On the continental front, Ohagwa was re-elected as the Honorary Treasurer of the West African Union of Tax Institutes (WAUTI) in February 2025, having previously served a two-year tenure from February 2023 to February 2025.
He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) of the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA), USA.
He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of Lagos, Akoka, and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Bayero University, Kano.
According to the statement, Ohagwa has attended several professional training programmes within and outside Nigeria, including at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government in Massachusetts, USA.
The investiture ceremony for the President-elect is scheduled to hold on June 14.
