Business
Senate leaks damning report indicting NNPC, FIRS, Customs, others
Shocking revelations emerged Monday that many of the revenue-generating agencies of the Federal Government had shortchanged it to the tune of N1.7 trillion. This happened through under-remittance of revenues generated between 2012 and 2016.
The report is coming even as one of the agencies, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation ( NNPC), ran at a deficit of N3.1 trillion during the period under review.
The N1.695,585 , 887, 406 reportedly lost by the Federal Government during the stated period, was from a total sum of N21.5 trillion generated by 93 agencies covered.
These facts are contained in the report of the ad-hoc committee on Alleged Mis-use, under Remittance, and other Fraudulent Activities in Collection, Accounting, Remittance and Expenditure of IGR by Revenue Generating Agencies, set up by the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, in November last year.
In the 32-page report laid before the Senate last week, a copy of which was sighted by Ripples Nigeria, 25 out of the entire 93 revenue-generating agencies covered, were alleged to have defrauded the federal government of the sum of N1.7 trillion.
Read also: BVN: Adegboruwa flays FG, court over ‘manifestly illegal’ account forfeiture order
Specifically, the report states that during the period under review, the Nigeria Customs Service which generated N335.855 billion, failed to remit N83.963 billion as 25 per cent of the amount generated in line with the provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007.
Similar negative report was made on Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) by the committee, stating that it generated N455.5 billion, but had under-remittance of N33.83 billion.
Also included is the Nigerian Ports Authority which recorded under-remittance of N86.636 billion into the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF), despite generating N789.104 billion.
Others are the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), N13.716 under-remittance out of N3.098 trillion generated, NIMASA with N184.489 billion under-remittance out of N301.160 billion generated, NTA N5.567 billion under-remittance out of N56.817 billion generated, among others.
For NNPC, the committee, in the report, stated that while the nation’s cash cow during the period under review generated N15.541 trillion, its entire expenditure during the period was N18.657 trillion, exceeding the corporation’s revenue profile by N3.115 trillion.
The committee iobserved that revenue-generating agencies chose to comply with a directive via a memo dated 11’“ November 2011 Ref. No. BO/RVE/12235/259/VII/201 by the former Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo Iweala to remit 25 per cent only from the revenue generated and use the remaining 75 per cent as part of its expenditure which is a clear violation of section 120 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and also a violation of the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007 and the Establishment Acts of some of these Institutions.
The report showed that most of the revenue-generating agencies denied the Auditor General of the Federation access to their financial books and records which is in conflict with section 125, subsection (3) a (i and ii) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
RipplesNigeria… without borders, without fears
Click here to join the Ripples Nigeria WhatsApp group for latest updates.
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...
Lakeon Show
October 25, 2017 at 1:32 pm
The former minister should be allowed to defend herself in an occasion like this. It is not enough to accuse somebody and make him or her guilty immediately after the accusation.
Lakeon Show
October 25, 2017 at 1:50 pm
No one should cast aspersion simply because this case was reported here. Let’s get to the bottom of the matter then, a good comment can be made.
Lakeon Show
October 25, 2017 at 1:50 pm
I will suggest the senate present the document authored or endorsed by the former minister where she stated that these agencies should pay 25 percent.
Lakeon Show
October 25, 2017 at 1:50 pm
I need to know the role the senate played at the time. Was it not alive to its role of checking and balancing the actions of the executive and agencies?
Lakeon Show
October 25, 2017 at 1:51 pm
Leave the minister alone. If what she has done is not acceptable to you then do the needful and stop feeding the public with the pain of your irresponsibility.
Lakeon Show
October 25, 2017 at 1:51 pm
Does the senate expects the agencies to remit more than 25 percent of income accruing to them or what? What has the government really done with taxes, revenues paid over these years?
Lakeon Show
October 25, 2017 at 1:52 pm
Nigerians do not need all these pretentious acts of government and its officials. What we need is a move away from all these negatives and present a country we would all be proud of.
Lakeon Show
October 25, 2017 at 1:53 pm
Each agency which refuses to pay should face the senate one by one and let the minister be.
Lakeon Show
October 25, 2017 at 1:53 pm
If this woman is not valued here, other nations and organizations around the world do, and they will make use of her to achieve a great deal.
Lakeon Show
October 25, 2017 at 1:54 pm
The senate itself is guilty and not qualified to mediate or prosecute on matters like this. What about the money they allot to themselves in the name of bonuses, allowances, etc?
Lakeon Show
October 25, 2017 at 1:54 pm
If this woman is not valued here, other nations and organizations around the world do, and they will make use of her to achieve a great deal.
nellyvictor
October 25, 2017 at 3:57 pm
Going through the genesis of this scandalous story, the revenue generating agency were first blamed for not meeting their target for revenue collection, now they want to put the blame on NOI. Enemies of progress.
nellyvictor
October 25, 2017 at 3:57 pm
It was even reported that the government had been unable to meet its revenue projections before 2012 and 2016. So why the blame on her?
nellyvictor
October 25, 2017 at 3:57 pm
The revenue generating agencies too should be able to provide receipts on how the money was spent.
nellyvictor
October 25, 2017 at 3:58 pm
Haters just want to tarnish the image of our great former minister of finance NOI, for no just good reasons. As far as am concerned this isn’t any fact.
nellyvictor
October 25, 2017 at 3:58 pm
In fact, if you have been following up on this issue of revenue leakages, you will discover that NOI even insisted that all revenue generating agency must issue receipts on how the revenue generated is being spent.
nellyvictor
October 25, 2017 at 3:58 pm
Dr Bright Okogu, Director General of Budget Office was the person who insisted that at least 25 percent of the gross revenue should be remitted to government coffers to curb the issue of revenue leakages after expressing his fears on the threat to oil earnings.
nellyvictor
October 25, 2017 at 3:59 pm
During the tenure of Chief Anthony Ani as Minister of finance under Sani Abacha administration, it was said that of the federal collected revenue of 452 billion, only 208 billion was paid into the federal account in 1997. Also in 1998, of 424 billion collected, only 189 billion was remitted to government purse yet nobody complained of that. What was the rest of the money used for?
nellyvictor
October 25, 2017 at 4:00 pm
The issue of government revenue leakages has been even before the reign of NOI as Minister of finance. Government should think of a possible solution to this mismanagement of funds rather than pointing fingers to innocent ones.
nellyvictor
October 25, 2017 at 4:00 pm
This people in the senate are all liars. They say one thing today, tomorrow they say another. Mtcheeeeeeeeew!!! SMH.
nellyvictor
October 25, 2017 at 4:00 pm
If the senate wants to start the issue of revenue leakages, they should do so from where it started from. Let them stop tarnishing NOI image.