News
FIRS picks holes in N2.59trillion Tax Credit Scheme on Road Construction
***As NNPC struggles to explain $3.3billion loan secured for CBN
The Chairman of Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Zacheus Adedeji picked holes in the three year old N2.59trillion Tax Credit Scheme introduced by former President Muhammadu Buhari administration for road construction across the country.
This is coming as one of the critical executors of the Tax Credit Scheme, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), tried to judtify the $3.3billion loan facility secured for the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for stabilization of Naira in the foreign exchange market.
The FIRS Chairman indifference to the N2.59trillion Tax Credit Scheme introduced through Executive Order 7 of 2021 by Muhammadu Buhari led government, came to the fore during his appearance before the Senate Committee on Finance along with the Chief Finanancial Officer of NNPCL, Umoru Ajiya
Apparently piqued by the poor state of Federal Roads across the country despite the N2.59trillion Tax Credit, The Senator Sani Musa led Committee had invited the duo, to shed more light on the implementation of the scheme.
While the NNPCL Chief Financial Officer, raised the hope of the committee members that the schene is realy helping to refixing delapidated roads across the six geo political zones in the country with N664billion spent so far, the FIRS boss, said the scheme was unlawful and should be discontinued.
He said,
“The Mandate of FIRS lumped with execution of Tax Credit Scheme for road construction , is to access, collect tax and remit it into the federation account and not to appropriate it for any purpose through executive order.
“It is not the duty of FIRS and NNPCL to be paying contractors. The Ministry of Works should be in line with its core mandate, allow to award road contracts and pay for them.
“The scheme to some people serves as a faster way for road reconstruction or rehabilitation across the country, but we should stop increasing speed towards the wrong direction .
“As a way of stopping the wrong approach, FIRS and CBN are holding meeting with the Ministry of Works on Friday this week, where stock would be taken of what have done done through the scheme and thereafter toe the right path .
“We should in a nutshell, not continue in the wrong trajectory “, he said .
Impressed by his submission, the Chairman of the Committee , Senator Sani Musa, said relevant provisions of the 1999 constitution(as amended) are against the scheme, because monies NNPC and FIRS are being made to spend on the roads through tax credit were meant to be remitted into consolidated revenue fund .
“We are waiting for the outcome of the meeting of the three agencies involved in the scheme , before deciding on how to help the present government to correct mistakes of the past ‘, he said.
On the $3.3billion loan facility , NNPCL informed the Committee members that it was secured to support CBN to suppress FOREX Volatility
It said $2.2billion had already been secured for the apex bank while the balance of $1.05billion , would be credited the apex bank before the end of the month .
Former Director-General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Professor Tom Adaba, has passed away at the age of 84.
According to reports, he died peacefully on Saturday in Abuja.
Chief Adinoyi Joe Anivasa, Secretary of the Egbira Elders Forum, confirmed the news, stating, “I feel sad to inform you that our elder and leader, Prof. Tom A. Adaba, has answered the call of nature this morning. Further details about his burial arrangements will be communicated later.”
Born on July 2, 1941, Prof. Adaba made significant contributions to Nigeria’s broadcasting industry. Between 1988 and 1992, he became the first Nigerian to serve as President of the African Council for Communication Education.
Despite calls for suspension from the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and the Nigeria Police Force, the Osun State local government election proceeded as scheduled on Saturday.
Governor Ademola Adeleke voted in Ede North Local Government Area, describing the process as peaceful and urging residents to exercise their franchise.
The AGF, Lateef Fagbemi, cited a Court of Appeal ruling allegedly reinstating sacked local government chairmen, while the police warned of potential security threats.
However, the Osun State government insisted on holding the election, emphasizing its commitment to obeying a court directive. The opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) boycotted the polls.
Voting took place under tight security, with minimal commercial activity observed in Osogbo, the state capital.
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Commissioner for Information, Jonathan Vatsa, has indicated that Firmer President Muhammadu Buhari’s absence at the public presentation of former military ruler General Ibrahim Babangida’s autobiography, The Journey of Service, held in Abuja on Thursday was not surprising.
Speaking to journalists in Minna on Saturday, Vatsa suggested that Buhari’s no-show was a result of unresolved bitterness over the 1985 coup, in which Babangida overthrew him and subsequently detained him.
According to Vatsa, Buhari may still harbor resentment, especially over being denied the chance to bid his late mother farewell while in detention.
“It Would Have Been the 9th Wonder of the World If Buhari Had Attended”
Vatsa claimed that Buhari’s absence was expected, given the deep-seated history between the two former leaders.
“The memory of the ‘mother of all betrayals’ has not left him. It would have been the ninth wonder of the world if Buhari had attended that book launch,” he said.
The APC chieftain also linked Buhari’s perceived neglect of Niger State during his eight-year presidency to his history with Babangida.
“The whole world knows that Niger State was made a scapegoat by Buhari because of IBB. For eight years, he did not pay any serious official visit to the state, and not a single federal project was executed here. The Baro Port project was abandoned, and federal roads across the state were left in disrepair,” Vatsa alleged.
He claimed that despite the overwhelming votes Buhari received from Niger State in 2015 and 2019, the state was sidelined due to the personal history between the former presidents.
“When two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers. Niger State paid for the sin of one man,” he lamented.
When asked for his opinion on the contents of IBB’s autobiography, Vatsa said he would reserve his comments until he has read and digested the book fully.
“There are certain things I expected to see in the book. Once I am done reading, I will invite you all for my comments,” he stated.
The book launch attracted several high-profile attendees, including President Bola Tinubu, former presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Goodluck Jonathan, and Yakubu Gowon, as well as former military head of state Abdulsalami Abubakar.
Other dignitaries included former Ghanaian President Akufo-Addo, former Sierra Leonean President Ernest Koroma, and ex-vice presidents Atiku Abubakar, Yemi Osinbajo, and Namadi Sambo, alongside traditional rulers and state governors.
Buhari’s absence, however, remained a major talking point, reinforcing speculations that the 1985 coup remains a sore point in Nigeria’s political history.
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