News

FIRS Boss Reveals Multiple Revenue Collection Agencies Responsible For leakages

Published

5 months ago

February 28, 2024

By Gloria Ikibah

The Executive Chairman of Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Zach Adedeji, has said that the collection of revenue by over 60 government agencies is the major cause of leakage of funds.

Adedeji who disclosed this when he appeared before the House of Representatives Committee on Finance, chaired by Rep. for bugdet hearing, said this duty should solely be the responsibility of the Service to ensure greater accountability in the system.

He asserted that other revenue collection agencies of government should focus on their various core mandates; and further advocated for a single window method of tax collection to make the process less cumbersome and check the loss of government funds.

According to the FIRS boss, one of the challenges facing this was lack of verifiable data in the country.

He said a bill would be sent to the National Assembly to ensure all Nigerians have one single number of identification.

He said, “We are doing a lot of reforms including the single window because if you look at FIRS, what we collect mainly is company income tax. The problem we have is that we do not have verifiable data in the country. So one of the major things we are doing which hopefully in the next two weeks or one month maximum, a law would be sent to the House to change so that all Nigerians must have one single number of identification which by law today is NIN. The plan is to make sure everything we do as citizens is linked directly to this NIN. This would also help address issue of tax leakage.”

Adedeji said the Services was given a mandate to collect the sum of N10 trillion based on the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) that was passed in 2023 which was reviewed upward to N11 trillion during the year.

He noted that the Service was able to deliver N12.3 trillion as the revenue collected for the year 2023 which was 11 percent above the target set by government.

Adedeji said the performance was as a result of the internal reform that they embarked upon and the favourable economic policy decision by the President.

The FIRS Boss said the mandate of the Service for 2024 through the MTEF is to collect N19 trillion which is an additional N7 trillion compared to what was collected in 2023.

He said the bulk of it is coming from positive projection from oil and gas revenue.

He however said if this ambitious target of N19 trillion is to be met there is need to restructure the service to be more focused.

Adedeji said, “So instead of having types of taxes, what we do now is to categorise by the turn over which is customer focused. Now we have large tax if your turnover is above N5 billion. Between N1 and N5 billion is medium and anything less than N1 billion is a small tax payer.

“The reason for this is simple. We want to provide a one stop shop for tax payers. Where one can do all forms of taxes. This would reduce multiple audits and distraction to the businesses. It is our intention that 80 percent of core service job is done by the service.

“The tax to GDP is very low compared to our peers and that is why we have to come up with those reforms that Mr President has approved. One of it is the setting up of that tax reform committee. What we see is that in other climes, you have single revenue collecting agents. But here in Nigeria we have more than 62 agencies collecting one way or the other on behalf of Federal Government.

“And when you see people focussing on revenue instead of going to their area of strength, when everybody tries to collect, the leakage is all there. Two is the law that we have. Most of them are obsolete. For example the digital tax that we are talking about there is no law in Nigeria that empowers us to effectively tax all these digital businesses which we know is on the rise.

“Also our processes, Mr Presidnent approved that going forward we should pay our contractor’s directly instead of moving money to MDAs, most especially capital funding. What that would do is that we can deduct tax and also help us in cash management.

“We are also doing a lot of reforms including the single window. Because if you look at FIRS what we collect mainly is company income tax which is result of the difference between cost of sales and gross sales. But cost of sales if inflated means you would have less profits and less taxes.

“Today we don’t have anywhere to confirm the major cost of sales of all these companies because when they do the valuation sometimes, they do not have verifiable value to do that”, he noted.

Chairman, House Committee on Finance,, Rep. James Faleke, queried if the proposed single window revenue would mean whether Customs, NIMASA, NPA and all the major revenue collectors would be subject to the FIRS or the Service would be collecting revenue on their behalf.

In response, Adedeji said these agencies should rather concentrate on their individual primary mandates and leave the revenue collection to the FIRS.

He said, “This is the way. If you look at the basis of collection like you mentioned, I use NIMASA as example, the basis of collection for NIMASA is 3 percern of FOB. That has nothing to do with Marine. FOB, if you have the single window, you know the total number of vessels coming into the country and going out and the fee is just 3 percent, so what does NIMASA need to do about that.

“What we are saying is that these agencies were set up to do core duties. When you talk about Customs, they are border and trade facilitation. Revenue is not core mandate of Customs. Customs is about border and trade facilitation. So when you have single window, all what you say Customs collects because the real principle of single window is that everything coming to the country is in advance notified, so you know the number of containers coming, the volume, what is there and you know the amount and they pay you once.

“When you do that, the Customs collecting this and that or the NPA collecting also, this would go. When we talk about single that is why they say revenue service. If you go to UK or South Africa, you don’t see Customs Customs collecting revenue. They are merged.

“I am not saying it is bad but it is not the duty of FIRS to be approving payment for roads. I don’t have people who would monitor whether that road is done or not. So my duty is to access, collect and account for all revenue due to Federation. So any other job may be good and laudable but that is not my core duty. So the same things happens when you see a lot of other agencies collecting revenue. And that is when you see leakages,” he added.

The Chairman commended the initiative to ensure payments are made directly to the contractors and not the MDAs.

He reiterated the commitment of the Committee to ensure that leakages are addressed and revenue increased to make life better for the ordinary Nigerian.

He said, “No one here will doubt your capability, it’s just the political will. Thank God that we have a president who has given you the authority and of course back you with that political will to reform our tax system. What you have to do is to look inward and ensure that you have directors and staffers who will not and negotiate you out.

“We have document to show that we have operators of our revenue collection who also negotiate and say you can pay this, we will do this. That is exactly what we are facing.

“With all the things you have enumerated, only you cannot do the job. You also have to delegate. So what this means is that every one of your staff who are on oath will ensure that they do the right thing.”

News

Tinubu Fires Top Appointee Over Alleged N1.4 Billion Embezzlement

Published

8 mins ago

July 27, 2024

Admin

President Bola Tinubu has sacked Sani Auwalu Balarabe from his position as HoD, Chief of the Intercountry Centre for Oral Health for Africa, ICOH, over an alleged embezzlement of N1.4 billion during his tenure.

As far as one could gather from the People’s Gazette, the appointment of Balarabe was terminated on the 18th of July, following a spate of petitions that related to financial misconduct and investigations. The president appointed one Taiwo Olaniyi to replace him.

In January, several petitions were sent to the House of Assembly, EFCC, Ministry of Health, and other government agencies to investigate activities of Balarabe at ICOH. The petitions leveled accusations against Balarabe, saying that he had not conducted any research despite the institute receiving huge budgetary allocations, which is its core mandate.

One of the petitions dated January 16 had this: “Despite all these budgetary allocations, the centre has not produced a single oral health research project, which is its core mandate and the reason for its establishment.

It further brought to the fore that projects initiated under Balarabe’s administration, such as the construction of a remodeled dental clinic and administration block and the procurement of project vehicles, costing over N700 million, were never completed.

The petitions also accused him of backdating the appointment letters for new staff and paying them arrears of their salary, with such money to be returned to a particular account. These funds are said to have been applied toward some expenses at ICOH.

The sacking of Balarabe clearly typified President Tinubu’s commitment to corruption fighting and making those in charge of public institutions accountable.

News

Finally, IGP approves hunger protests across Nigeria

Published

8 hours ago

July 26, 2024

Austin Ojomah

The Nigerian police has finally approved the planned nationwide protests and outlined conditions for participants.

The Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, revealed this on Friday while addressing journalists in Abuja.

He urged all groups planning to participate in the proposed nationwide protest to submit their details to the Commissioners of Police in their respective states.

The police boss said this was to ensure the protest was peaceful.

Egbetokun said, “We acknowledge the constitutional right of Nigerian citizens to peaceful assembly and protest.

“However, in the interest of public safety and order, we urge all groups planning to protest to provide necessary details to the Commissioner of Police in the state where the protest is intended to take place.

“To facilitate a successful and incident-free protest, they should please provide the following information: state the proposed protest routes and assembly points; expected duration of the protest; and names and contact details of protest leaders and organisers.”

The police boss said the information expected from the organisers also include measures to prevent hijacking by criminal elements, as well as key identifiers for possible isolation of potential troublemakers.

By providing the information, he said, the police will be able to deploy adequate personnel and resources to ensure public safety.

He said the police needed to know the specific routes and areas for the protest to avoid conflicts with other events or activities.

Mr Egbetokun said the police will “establish clear communication channels with protest leaders to address any concerns or issues that may arise; minimise the risk of violence, property damage, or other criminal activity.

“We encourage all protesters to cooperate with the police, obey the law, and adhere to global best practices for peaceful assembly to guarantee a safe and successful exercise of their rights.

News

Reps North-West Caucus Beg Youths, Citizens In The Region Not To Join Planned Protest

Published

9 hours ago

July 26, 2024

Gloria Ikibah

…commend President Tinubu’s development initiative

By Gloria Ikibah

The North-West caucus of the House of Representatives have appealed to youths, citizens in the region not to take part in the planned nationwide protest scheduled for August 1.

The caucus also appealed to the region’s citizens to give governments at federal and state levels more time to address their concerns, rather than joining the planned protest.

Chairman of the Caucus, Rep. Sada Soli, lawmaker representing Jibia/Kaita constituency, Katsina state, who stated this on Friday at a press conference in Abuja, emphasized that the region had suffered enough disruption and needed peace to restore its economy and social order

Rep. Soli explained that their stance to the recent signing of the North West Development Commission Bill into law by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, which they believe will address the region’s development challenges.

He highlighted that the commission would guarantee the rebuilding of ruined infrastructure, from roads, schools, health facilities and markets, to homes and places of worship, business premises and other social amenities.

The lawmakers noted that the commission would tackle the multidimensional crisis caused by violence and terrorism in the region, which has affected agricultural activities, trade, and social amenities.

While acknowledging the region’s overwhelming support for President Tinubu in the last election, they expressed trust in his commitment to develop the region and further urged the President to intensify efforts in addressing the security challenges still prevalent in the region and called for a broader security sector reform.

The forum said: “The sporadic attacks have since escalated into a multidimensional crisis that has hampered agricultural activities and trade, and turned some of the most industrious and thriving communities in the North West geopolitical zone into ghost towns as people flee their homes and become refugees.

“This has manifestly impacted on the famous cross-border trade and flourishing agrobusiness between the geopolitical zone and neighboring countries. Most of our border constituencies, which were historically vibrant commercial centres, with massive large-scale farmers exporting produce to various parts of Africa, including Niger Republic, Mali, and Benin Republic, have since been abandoned by farmers, importers and exporters, due to this wanton violence. As a result, Internally Generated Revenues in these states have been negatively affected.

“Politically, in voting so overwhelmingly for President Tinubu in the last election, the North West geopolitical zone had hoped that the famous Asiwaju, who had shown himself to be a patriot of the first order and a man who believed in fairness and equity, would make policy decisions that will bring development to our states by rescuing them from the evils of banditry and cross border terrorism.

“This Commission is, therefore, a tremendous boost to the valiant efforts of the governors of the North West geopolitical zone and it has further justified our trust in President Tinubu’s commitment to help revamp this geopolitical zone and place it on a sound pedestal.

We must, however, appeal to the President to intensify efforts in addressing the security challenges still prevalent in the geopolitical zone particularly, and other parts of the country at large. A broader security sector reform will enable our people to return to their normal lives, leading to positive changes in economic development and social order.

“That is why members of the National Assembly, particularly members of the North West Caucus – and indeed other political, traditional and religious leaders in the North West geopolitical zone, do not support the scheduled nationwide protest planned by some elements to further disrupt the very delicate balance of the country right now.

“We appeal to the peaceful and law-abiding people of the North West geopolitical zone, who have suffered enough disruption of their peace, not to join in this potentially destructive exercise, but rather to give governments at both the Federal and State levels more chance to look at the issues concerned”, he added.