Mohammed Shosanya
The Chairman of Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Zacheus Adedeji has described as unlawful the three year old N2.59trillion Tax Credit Scheme introduced by former President Muhammadu Buhari administration for road construction across the country.
The FIRS boss has also called for the discontinuation of the scheme.
This is even as the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited ( NNPCL), explained the $3.3billion loan facility secured for the Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN) for stabilization of Naira in the foreign exchange market.
These developments came up when FIRS and the Chief Financial Officer of NNPCL, Umoru Ajiya, appearance before the Senate Committee on Finance.
President Buhari had introduced through Executive Order 7 of 2021, the N2.59trillion Tax Credit Scheme.
The Senator Sani Musa led Committee had invited the duo, to shed light on implementation of the scheme vis – a vis, the poor state of Federal Roads across the country.
While the NNPCL Chief Financial Officer praised the scheme that it is helping to fix the dilapidated roads across the six geo political zones in the country with N664billion spent so far, the FIRS boss stated otherwise, adding that the scheme 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 purose 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 people serves as faster way for road reconstruction or rehabilitation across the country, but we should stop increasing speed towards wrong direction.
“As a way of stopping the wrong approach, FIRS and CBN are holding meeting with the Ministry of Works Friday this week, where stock would be taken of what have be done through the scheme and thereafter, to the right path.
“We should in a nutshell, not continue in the wrong trajectory,” he said.
The Chairman of the Committee, who was impressed by his submission, 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, supposed to be remitted into consolidated revenue fund .
“We are waiting for outcome of 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 foreign exchange 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 .