College of Arts, Social and Management Sciences (CASMAS)

More about CASMAS Dean

Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS)

Prof. Olateju Abiola Somorin’s immeasurable contributions and impact to the Nigerian Tax System remains unrivalled. It spanned over 49 years, following her 34 years of service at the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) (1976-2010) and post -retirement. Remarkably, she served as the FIRS Board Secretary for 15 years, (appointed and re-appointed).

Her award-winning competitive essay on Improving Tax Compliance was one of the three published by the Commonwealth Association of Tax Administrators (CATA) in London (1989).

A Tax Reformer to the core, the 1991 Study Group on Tax Reform of which she was the Secretary, ushered in the Value Added Tax in Nigeria in 1992. Consequently, she was appointed as the Secretary to the Value Added Tax (VAT) Technical Committee. The assignment earned her a written commendation from the then Honourable Minister of Finance, Alhaji Abubakar Alhaji.

She coordinated not less than 47 tax conferences, seminars and workshops. Under her leadership, the Software Application Programme (SAP) for FIRS was successfully deployed.

During her sojourn at FIRS, Olateju, fondly referred to as TEJUTAX, achieved several historic milestones, including being the first female to attain the position of Director in FIRS, and also was the first woman to head at least seven different units/departments inclusive of being the first female HR Director of FIRS.

Professor Somorin retired as a Group Director, (first female) overseeing seven Departments, in 2010, and was Number 3 in the then hierarchy of FIRS. During her tenure at the FIRS, Professor Teju Somorin played a pivotal role in tax enforcement activities. Her expertise extended to participating in numerous amendments to the Nigerian Tax Laws and contributing to the development of the National Tax Policy document.

Tax Professional Bodies

She is privileged to have headed three notable Tax Professional Bodies in Africa. She served concurrently from 2015 to 2017 as the second female President of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), and as the first female President of the West African Union of Tax Institutes (WAUTI). She eventually became the first and the only female to head the Association of African Tax Institutes (AATI) from 2016 to 2019. A Life Patron to the Society of Women in Taxation (SWIT) and a member of Society of Women in Taxation, West Africa (SWITWA, the female arm of the West African Union of Tax Institutes. Somorin is a member of the Global Tax Advisers Platform since its inception in 2017.

Caleb University, IMOTA, Lagos State

She is the first female professor to be appointed by Caleb University Lagos State, on 1st November 2017. She later served as the first female Dean of the College of Post Graduate Studies of Caleb University from 2019 to 2023. Teju, the only female member of staff on the Governing Council of Caleb University since 2019, was the first female chairman of the Business Committee of Senate and the first female chairman of the Committee of Deans and Directors. Currently, she is the Dean of the College of Arts, Social and Management Sciences, the largest Faculty in the university,

Former Academic Posts

• Adjunct Associate Professor of Taxation &Fiscal Policy January 2016-2017, Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State, Nigeria, West-Africa
• Adjunct Associate Professor of Taxation Igbinedion University, Okada (January 2016-June 8, 2017)

Tax Advisory Committee & Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee

She is the first female Member of the Federal Government Tax Advisory Committee (TAC), a committee that saw to the emergence of the Finance Acts in 2019. Thus, she has proved her unique ability, astute knowledge and intellect to be able to blend academics with professionalism and excellence. Currently, she is a member of the Tax Law Reform Committee, a sub- committee of the 2023/2025 Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, led by Taiwo Oyedele.

Research Activities at the Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG) and other Affiliations

In 2016, Teju was appointed as one of the eight Fiscal Commissioners of the NESG Fiscal Commission Roundtable. She also served as the Chairperson, Fiscal Environment Thematic Group (FETG). She led the Research Group of the NESG in 2018 to produce 180 paged Report, on the Expanded Review of the Nigerian Tax System. In 2019, she was one of the two Co-Chair of the Fiscal Policy Round Table of the NESG.

Somorin’s Affiliation to World Bank Research Projects and Related Bodies

At different times, she participated in the following World Bank related activities.

• Tax Expert Team Lead, World Bank, Sponsored Tax Policy and Administration Training for Staff of Technical Services Department and Allied Agencies under the Fiscal Governance and Institutions Project (FGIP) of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning.
• Tax Expert Team Lead, World Bank, Sponsored Domestic Tax Studies (DTS) under the Fiscal Governance and Institutions Project (FGIP) of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, (2023)
• Involvement in Projects of the African Development Bank, The Institute for Austrian and International Tax Law at the Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the World Bank and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa)
• Participant, Tax and Good Governance Project (2018 to 2020)- Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU), Austria- A project with focus on tax compliance and illicit activities in Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa.
• Participant, Tax Transparency and Corruption Project 2020-2023- the Global Tax Policy Centre (WU GTPC), and the African Tax Institute (ATI)
• Participant, Tax & Good Governance in Africa, Project 2015-2024, a project with focus on tax compliance and illicit activities in Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa.
• In 2016, she participated at the CFE Fiscal Committee Meetings, a committee with focus on tax-related (draft) EU legislation and case-law.
• In 2018, she was appointed as the External Advisor to the Amsterdam-based, Centre for Studies in African Taxation (CSAT) of the International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation (IBFD).

Board Membership

• Board Member, Federal Inland Revenue Service Board (2009-2010)
• Board Member (Association of Professional Bodies of Nigeria (APBN) (2015-2017)
• Member Joint Tax Board (JTB), 2016-2017

Research, Publications & Capacity Building

Teju is a prolific writer, with 164 publications, (159 singly authored and 5 jointly authored), in Taxation. Most importantly, she is the author of the well sought-after “TEJUTAX, Reference Books on the Nigerian Tax System, in 2490 pages, a product of twelve years of extensive research, which combine features of a dictionary and an encyclopaedia in taxation. The book in two volumes is “an illustration of Somorin’s contribution and legacy to the overall reform of the Nigerian tax system”. The books remain the first of its kind in Nigeria’s history.

Somorin, a well sought-after speaker, has transferred knowledge to numerous students and professionals, and she has built capacity for FIRS, the CITN, Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN), the Joint Tax Board, University of Lagos (Unilag Consult), Public Service Institute, Abuja, Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo, Kwara State Internal Revenue Service and the Niger State Internal Revenue Service.

Editorial Activities

Chairman, Editorial Board, Nigerian TAXNEWS (1995-2000), Member- Editorial Board Investor’s Tax Guide, Member- Editorial Board, Nigeria Tax Journal, Editorial Consultant, Kwara State Internal Revenue Service News (KWAREVE), Member, Editorial Committee, CITN Nigeria Tax Guide &Statutes and the Coordinating Editor Economic Intelligence, FIRS Publication of Research & Development Unit. Others are Editorial Board Member, Economic Journal, Igbinedion University, Okada (2016-2017) and Editorial Consultant to West African Tax Administrators Forum. (WATAF)

Awards

In 2008, Teju was selected “among the bulk of nominations received from Ogun State and one of the two from the entire South-West Geo-Political Zone” for a Life Fellow Award in Public Administration (FCIPA), issued by the Certified Institute of Public Administrators, Ghana. In 2015, the National Association of Nigeria Students awarded her an Outstanding Leadership Award as an Icon of Societal Transformation in recognition of Commitment to the growth of the Nigeria Economy. In all, she has received 66 awards in taxation which stand her out as a great achiever including the prestigious 2016 Kwame Nkrumah All African Students Union (AASU) Leadership Award as “Africa’s Most Outstanding Tax Administrator” and thereby inducted into the All-Africa Students Union Hall of Fame.

On 19th December 2024, Caleb University, Lagos State awarded her the Overall Best University Faculty of the Year, this award thus became her 59th!

Her 66th award was received on 26th November 2025 from the Chartered Institute of Directors in view of her presentation as the key note speaker at the CIOD Tax Symposium.

African Tax Administrators Forum (ATAF) Research Undertaking by ATAF Women in Tax Network

In November 2023, she was appointed as the only Nigerian to the female wing of the Board of African Tax Administrators Forum (ATAF), known as the ATAF Women in Tax Network, (AWITN), a body headquartered in Pretoria, South Africa and committed to reducing gender inequality in ATAF Member countries. AWITN emphasizes the importance of undertaking research, collecting gender disaggregated data (GDD), and carrying out gender impact analysis (GIA).

And on November 5, 2025, she was reappointed by the Board. Therefore, Somorin’s profound impact on the Nigerian Tax System, and Africa, remains unrivalled.