The Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), has bid farewell to its founding President, Chief David Olorunleke, FCTI, who departed this life peacefully on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025. describing him as an “Exceptional Professional”.
Mr Innocent Ohagwa, the 17th President of CITN, made this known at the Funeral Service of Chief Olorunleke at All Souls’ Church, Lekki on Friday in Lagos.
Ohagwa said the death Chief Olorunleke was a big loss the Institute and Nigeria at large, as he had made great impacts on taxation system in Nigeria, saying that his role created the modern tax profession.
He said that Olorunleke legacy echoes through the corridors of taxation practice in Nigeria, inspiring generations and would remain permanent in the heart of the Institute.
According to him, with his role; he brought tax professionals together – the multi-professionals whose desire were to practice tax, to administer tax, and to be advocates of tax compliance, stating that, presently, the Institute boasts of more than 33,000 members.
“We have lost a pathfinder, we have lost our Founder, we have lost our Father, we have lost our Grandfather, we have lost my former employer and also our former employer, we have lost an exceptional professional, a trailblazer and a life patron of the Institute.
“His legacy will remain permanent in our heads, and in our lives. Like an author said, no great man lives in vain; the history of the world is but the biography of the great men and women.
“Our Doyen has remained permanent in our lives, we can never forget him.
“A month to his death, we paid him a visit and he was full and bright. Our Doyen never moved in a wheelchair. He was standing to the last moment. We thank God for the grace of longevity, the grace of excellence in his life, the grace of success in all areas he lay hands upon. He was extraordinary. I can tell you that in our Institute, we are truly blessed with him and we will do more to immortalise him.
“Apart from naming our Abuja office after him, apart from presently documenting his legacies which will soon be published, we will regard him as a real breed that will hardly pass through the generation. We commit him to our Lord that his journey to eternity will be smooth,” Ohagwa said.
Speaking, a Former Accountant General of the Federation and President of the Institute, Dr Kayode Naiyeju, reiterated the impacts of Chief Olorunleke to taxation system in Nigeria and Africa.
Naiyeju said that the demised worked strongly to propagate taxation to both the taxpayers, the tax practitioners, and the tax administrators.
He said, “Olorunleke tried to consolidate all efforts – both tax administrators and tax practitioners during his time to bring about what we now know today as ‘Chartered Institute of Taxation’, fully certified by the Act of Parliament.
“He will be remembered for the legacies he left, he left a formidable Institute. In every country, taxation is a powerful instrument, not only for government to raise money, but at least it’s an economic tool to make sure that both the rich and the poor are stabilised.
“Therefore, I advise all tax practitioners, whether you are – a single taxpayer, a corporate taxpayer, or somebody who is having a legacy of money. You need to give unto Caesar what is Caesar, and give unto God what is God. It means you must pay your tax as at when due.
“If you are a practitioner, you should practice taxation with adherence to all ethics, the rules and regulations of taxation, do not do any shortcut. To the administrators, you must be fair in the applications of the laws and the principles. Those are the legacies Chief Olunleke left for us,” Naiyeju said.
The Past President of CITN and Board Secretary of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Prof. Teju Somorin, popularly known as Teju tax, recounted the contributions made by Olorunleke toward the growth and development of FIRS, describing him as a ‘humble boss’.
Somorin, also a formal Board Secretary, FIRS, said that his contributions and roles toward the emergence of Value-Added Tax (VAT) in Nigeria cannot be forgotten, saying that there was a documentary of the achievements recorded during his tenure as the Board Chairman of FIRS.
“I have documented a booklet of his contributions to the Nigerian tax system, particularly to the Federal Inland Revenue Department. I also mentioned the tax reforms that happened during his tenure as the Chairman of the Federal Board of Inland Revenue. The first one that happened under him was the 1978 tax reform, which expanded the scope of Withholding Tax in Nigeria.
“The second one was the study group on Nigerian tax system – Direct tax. The third one was the study group on Nigerian tax system on Indirect Tax.
“So, Olorunleke played prominent roles in all these study groups. Then his contributions and role toward the emergence of VAT in Nigeria cannot be forgotten,” Somorin said.
