{"id":22113,"date":"2025-10-24T17:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-24T16:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.funminews.com\/?p=22113"},"modified":"2025-10-24T16:56:02","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T15:56:02","slug":"a-nations-tribute-honoring-the-father-of-nigerian-taxation-at-86","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/24\/a-nations-tribute-honoring-the-father-of-nigerian-taxation-at-86\/","title":{"rendered":"A Nation\u2019s Tribute: Honoring the Father of Nigerian Taxation at 86."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

LAGOS, Nigeria (FN) \u2014 Chief David Ajibola Olorunleke, the founding president of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), died peacefully in the early hours of Friday, October 24, 2025, at the age of 85, the institute announced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Olorunleke, widely revered as the \u201cDoyen of Taxation,\u201d served as CITN\u2019s first president from 1985 to 1995. He also held key national roles as executive chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), permanent secretary in the Federal Ministry of Finance, and board member of FIRS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe was a devoted husband, father, grandfather, and an enduring champion of the tax profession in Nigeria,\u201d CITN said in a statement signed by Registrar and Chief Executive Afolake Oso. \u201cWe kindly request your prayers, reflections, and tributes as we celebrate his life, honour his achievements, and reaffirm our commitment to advancing the profession he helped build.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Condolence registers have been opened at CITN offices in Lagos and Abuja, where colleagues, admirers, and members of the public have begun paying their respects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu described Olorunleke\u2019s passing as \u201ca monumental loss to Nigeria\u2019s intellectual and professional community.\u201d In a statement issued by the presidency, Tinubu said, \u201cChief Olorunleke was a visionary who laid the foundation for modern tax administration in Nigeria. His legacy will continue to shape our fiscal institutions for generations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Senate President Godswill Akpabio also paid tribute, calling Olorunleke \u201ca national asset whose contributions to public finance and governance were both pioneering and transformative.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Family members expressed deep sorrow but pride in his legacy. \u201cHe was more than a father \u2014 he was a mentor to many,\u201d said his eldest son, Tunde Olorunleke. \u201cWe are comforted by the impact he made and the lives he touched.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Professional organizations across the country joined in mourning. The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) hailed him as \u201ca foundational figure in Nigeria\u2019s financial evolution.\u201d The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) described him as \u201ca bridge between law, policy, and fiscal justice.\u201d The Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) called him \u201ca pillar of fiscal reform,\u201d while the Tax Justice Network Africa praised his \u201cunwavering commitment to equity and transparency in taxation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Funeral arrangements are expected to be announced in the coming days. CITN said it will host a memorial symposium in his honor, celebrating his contributions to Nigeria\u2019s tax system and public service.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LAGOS, Nigeria (FN) \u2014 Chief David Ajibola Olorunleke, the founding president of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), died peacefully in the early hours of Friday, October 24, 2025, at the age of 85, the institute announced. Olorunleke, widely revered as the \u201cDoyen of Taxation,\u201d served as CITN\u2019s first president from 1985 to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":22115,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-naija-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.funminews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/David-Oloruneleke-Founding-President-of-CITN.jpeg?fit=547%2C645&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22113"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22113\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22117,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22113\/revisions\/22117"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22115"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}