News
Reps uncover N5bn illegal Duty Waiver granted to Chinese firm
The House of Representatives said it has discovered an illegal N5 billion Duty Waiver granted to a Chinese firm, China Habour, by the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), during negotiations for loans with the company.
While speaking at the investigative hearing into a query issued by the office of the Auditor General of the Federation (AuGF) against the NCS on Wednesday, the Chairman, House Committee on Public Accounts, Wole Oke, said his committee uncovered the illegal waiver while going through the details of the contract.
The controversial waiver was said to be for the importation of some items and materials which could have been sourced locally.
Oke who expressed his disappointment at the waivers, said the committee was livid with the various regulatory agencies that approved such waivers in breach of due process and extant financial regulations.
Oke added that the waivers had a “huge negative impact on the Nigerian economy as it has left it bleeding,” urging the House’s various standing committees to step up their oversight functions to prevent such aberrations in the future.
“The solution is that we should step up our oversight and ensure that nobody is undermining the revenue accruing to this country, either through these schemes I’ve mentioned or fraudulently.
Read also: LCCI raises fears over economic sustainability, calls for duty waiver for manufacturers
“Like in the case of China Harbour, China Harbour got a contract in Nigeria through contract financing and then you are claiming Duty Waiver of over N5 billion on items and materials that are available in Nigeria. They are importing them; they kill local industries, you are injuring us from both ends.
“We have to resolve that the MD of China Harbour should make an appearance. All they are trying to do is to cover-up. When it comes to capital flight, they don’t mind, but they are running away when it comes to accountability.
“And those who granted the Duty Waiver, we must ask them, and that’s why we invited the Ministry of Finance to defend the Duty Waiver they gave to you.
“Their company is bringing in cement when Dangote Plc is producing in Obajana. We have in Okpella, Ewekoro, Ibesi and also pay the duty. Meanwhile, they charge Dangote duty when they bring equipment.”
Join the conversation
Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism
Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.
As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.
If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.
Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.
INVESTIGATION: In Kwara, multimillion-naira milk processing plant is abandoned, converted to a chicken outlet
After the government spent millions of naira to establish a milk processing plant in Kwara State that would provided jobs...
SPECIAL REPORT: For Sokoto communities, promise of healthcare is akin to death sentence
In this story, ABDULRASHEED HAMMAD delves into the dire realities of Primary Health Care services in Sokoto State, shedding light...
ICYMI…SPECIAL REPORT: NNPCL hides behind PIA to frustrate disclosure, accountability
Nigeria’s major oil company, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), in what appears to be a common practice of disregard...
INVESTIGATION: Multi-million naira Ekiti resort center remains uncompleted a decade after
The multimillion-naira project, expected to comprise recreational buildings, now consists of cassava farmland, a bush used for excretion, and a...
SPECIAL REPORT: Torturous experiences of students with disabilities in Oyo tertiary institutions
For students with disabilities in Oyo state-owned tertiary institutions, learning is a torturous and distressing experience, considering the building structures...