The cold war within the Nigeria’s
presidency was, among other issues, caused by alleged misappropriation of N40
billion by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) under the immediate past
Chairman, Babatunde Fowler.
Fowler was last week denied a
second term as superintendent of Nigeria’s apex tax office. He was replaced
with a tax consultant, Muhammad M. Nami.
On Sunday, PRNigeria, relying on
strong sources within the presidency, reported that the ‘misappropriated’
money, which was purportedly used for ‘political campaign funding’ for 2019 did
not go down well with the seat of power which has ordered investigation and
prosecution of culprits.
Officials are said to be angry
and unsatisfied with Folwer’s explanations on how the fund was ‘shared,’ and
have vowed to punish other collaborators, including a very powerful figure
within the presidency.
Also connected to the N40 billion
sharing bazaar is a political gladiator in the Southwest who was said to have
received N3 billion which is less than 10 percent of the ‘campaign fund.’
Already, some top management
staff of FIRS have been quietly arrested and are being interrogated on
corruption allegations by anti-graft agencies.
A presidential source told
PRNigeria: “Some senior FIRS staff, about nine of them who were arrested in
connection with the money are being interrogated by an anti-corruption agency.
“Some are accused of being
involved in a multi-billion naira fraudulent actions and contract awards. This
is added to the extravagant lifestyle of these stooges and aides, poor
governance structure, audit reports and general mismanagement at FIRS”.
Recall that the Chief of Staff to
the President, Abba Kyari, had on August 8, 2019 queried the former top man of
the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS) for what the presidency called
dwindling tax revenue since 2015 when the Buhari’s administration took the helm
of governance.
Kyari ordered Fowler to explain
why in 2015, FIRS set N4.7 trillion target but was only able to make N3.7
trillion in the actual collection. In 2016, 2017 and 2018, the target
collections were N4.2 trillion, N4.8 trillion and N6.7 trillion but the actual
collections were N3.3 trillion, N4.0 trillion and N5.3 trillion, respectively.
“You are kindly invited to submit
a comprehensive variance analysis explaining the reasons for the variances
between the budgeted collections and actual collections for each main tax item
for each of the years 2015 to 2018,” Kyari demanded in the query.
Fowler, in his response, defended
the performance of FIRS under him citing the fact that what was considered a
fall in revenue was not as a result of misappropriated funds but a reflection
of the state of the economy during the years under review.
However, President Muhammadu
Buhari, in an apparent signal, fully backed his Chief of Staff’s actions
against Fowler in his October 1, 2019 Independence Anniversary Speech.
Buhari said: “Our revenue-generating
and reporting agencies will come under much greater scrutiny, going forward, as
the new performance management framework will reward exceptional revenue
performance, while severe consequences will attend failures to achieve agreed
revenue targets.”
Also, more damaging to Fowler and
his benefactors who are said to be on the brink of complete humiliation were
the allegations by the former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All
Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Timi Frank.
Sources confirmed that the
allegations, which are still being investigated, combined to stack up against
Fowler whose fate was officially sealed by Buhari on December 9.
“Mind you that Fowler’s sack has
not closed this chapter. Expect more casualties as more revelations are
unravelled. More heads may roll including very top figures who are already
roped in and cornered by the scandals,” the source said.
Also, the presidency was said to
have been amazed by Fowler’s letter to the Secretary to the Government of the
Federation (SGF) seeking his tenure renewal.
The letter with reference number
FIRS/EC/CWOSGF/0476/19/006, read in part: “I wish to present myself for
re-appointment for a second term. This is consistent with provisions of the
FIRS Establishment Act 2007 and would grant me the opportunity to consolidate
and build on the achievements we have recorded in the past four years.
“Please find attached the
highlight of my achievements during my first tenure in office. I would like to
put on record my gratitude to Mr. President for the opportunity to serve the
nation. I am also thankful for your support in the course of the discharge of
my duties,” part of the letter read.
But the appeal for reappointment
was immediately rejected because of the gravity of the allegations against
Fowler. The letter was believed to have been leaked to embarrass Fowler.
The source further disclosed that
not only were the allegations being taken seriously by the Presidency but there
are “concerns on how to recover the money”.
“Recovering the embezzled money
is of top priority and believe me those found culpable will eventually pay the
price,” the source added.
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com