The House of Representatives has mandated its Committees on Finance and Public Accounts to investigate allegations that some Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) owe the Government Tax Liabilities of over N115 Billion. The Committee is to investigate the allegations with a view to determining the amount each of the said MDAs owes, the duration of non-remittance and make recommendations on how to prevent a future re-occurrence of this illegality. It has also been instructed to report back within six (6) weeks for further legislative action.

Presenting the motion at the House plenary session of 7th, November 2017 Hon. Jerome Amadi (PDP: Rivers) stated that Nigeria’s most recent economic recession highlighted the importance of increasing government revenues through an aggressive taxation drive, strong monetary and fiscal policy and collecting surplus remittances from independent agencies.

However, speaking further, he expressed worry over the recent allegations by the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) that some MDAs owe the Federal Government as much as ₦115 Billion in remittances. The lawmaker also described the matter as a “serious issue”, expressing concerns that the funds could have possibly been mismanaged or squandered by those Agencies. He recalled a similar allegation by the former Acting Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), at a forum in Abuja in September 2017 who had stated that his agency was losing huge revenues MDAs that award contracts to companies without Tax Identification Number (TIN) and that many deductions made for Withholding Tax (WHT) or Value Added Tax (VAT), were not remitted to the FIRS.

Lastly, the lawmaker called for enlightenment of individuals and corporate organizations on the importance of tax compliance especially considering that it was a source of increased revenue for the country.