FIRS Chiaka Ben-Obi Wins ISACA Technology for Humanity Award in USA

Rebecca Ejifoma

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Group Lead, Digital and Innovation Support Group, Mrs Chiaka Ben-Obi has emerged winner of the 2023 ISACA Technology for Humanity Award in Boston, the US.

This was contained in a letter issued on Tuesday, November 22 this year by the ISACA community, congratulating her on her selection as the recipient.

The letter reads in part, “For championing efforts to transform Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to a digitised organisation, thereby bridging disparities among living standards and reducing fraud, and for supporting coding programs for women and children”.

ISACA Community further noted that a group of Ben-Obi’s peers reviewed all nominations and selected her organisation as the honoree, adding that the bar has been set high with her achievements.

Meanwhile, ISACA Technology for Humanity Award is one of its Global Achievement Awards and highest honours. This award recognises an individual, programme or organisation whose efforts in connecting with underserved communities or underrepresented individuals have helped bridge the digital divide.

The FIRS group lead will receive the award with the entire ISACA community during the Digital Trust World Conference in Boston, Massachusetts USA in May 2023.

As the Group Lead of the Digital and Innovation Support Group of the FIRS, Ben-Obi oversees a couple of departments with the responsibility of transforming FIRS into a digitalised organisation.

She was the Director of the Modernisation Department, with the overall responsibility of delivering the modernisation agenda projects, aimed at transforming FIRS into a modern, efficient and effective tax administration agency.

In the last three years, Ben-Obi has been very intentional in helping children get engaged with the ever-evolving world of digital literacy. This she has done by working with an organisation that trains children across communities to start early in leveraging the abundant windows in technology.

Today, Ben-Obi is actively involved in the summer coding class for children, powered by the ISACA Abuja Chapter. This is because of the vast benefits that coding holds.

Her academic portfolio includes a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) degree in Political Science and Public Administration from the University of Maiduguri, Nigeria. She also bagged an MBA from the University of Hull, United Kingdom; a Postgraduate Diploma in Information Systems Development from London Guildhall University, United Kingdom; and an alumnus of the Lagos Business School.