Presidency overthrows Kazaure over N89tn stamp duty claim
Following controversies following a claim of a missing N89.09tn being embezzled from stamp duties, the presidency on Tuesday said the claims were false.
He also said that the total banking sector deposits in Nigeria did not amount to half of N89tn.
"It is now apparent that the claims of consultants and petitioners regarding an N89tn missing stamp duty appear to be false and the figment of their malevolent imaginations. The same group of consultants claimed in 2016 that there was N20tn to collect. It turned out to be fake. The entire banking sector deposit is not even half of N89 trillion.
"Indeed, if the federal government can find N89tn Naira, it can pay off all its debt, both in foreign and local currency and all state government debt and it is left with even more N10tn," a statement signed on Tuesday evening by the president's spokesman, Garba Shehu, read.
The statement was titled Stamp Duty: Facts Nigerians Must Have.
In an interview with BBC Hausa last Friday, the lawmaker representing Kazaure, Roni, Gwiwa and Yankwashi Constituency of Jigawa State in the Lower Houses alleged that the Presidential Committee on Reconciliation and the restoration of all stamp duties had accused some government agencies of sabotaging the committee's efforts.
According to Kazaure, who said he was the secretary of the committee, he found that N89.09tn had so far been made from deductions by the banks, but these had not reached the chests of the FG.
He alleged the connivance of certain agents critical of the regime, including the Central Bank of Nigeria, the office of the Secretary to the Federation Government and the Protocol Department of the State House, preventing him from brief the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (Retired) on the findings.
But in reaction to Tuesday's claims, the presidency said there was a committee empowered by the president to seek to recover a sum of N20tn allegedly lost to the Nigerian interbank settlement system, the president revoked his approval upon carrying out the actual plan of said committee.
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He explained that this "anomaly" arose because certain characters apparently formed a cartel with collaborators of the Nigerian Postal Service and allegedly collected and pocketed tokens from banking transactions.
Soon after, a non-governmental organization claimed to the regime that the Nigerian government had lost the sum of more than 20 billion naira to the Nigerian interbank settlement system between 2013 and 2016 on this respect, saying that the said sum could be recovered and returned to the government's coffers.
"The consultants requested to be paid a professional fee of 7.5% and were placed under the supervision of the Secretary of the Federation Government.
"Following the lack of progress in the promised recovery, the late chief of staff of the president, Abba Kyari wrote on March 8, 2018 to the SGF transmitting a presidential directive which following the absence of progress and several expressed concerns received, the activities of the consultants be discontinued.
“Following this dismissal, the consultants sued the government. A competent court subsequently ruled in favor of the government,” the presidency noted in the statement.
He said that following the outcome of the litigation and the controversy over which agent was legally responsible for collecting this levy, the regime brought about a change in the law and removed NIPOST from the duty of its collection.
Shehu claimed that those fired were going back to the drawing board to formulate some form of ruse to intimidate the government but vigilant administration teams were keeping them at bay.
“Lately they have returned to government through the Hon. Muhammadu Kazaure with plan to follow up on so-called lost stamp duty with former consultant as president and Hon. Gudaji as secretary.
"When it emerged that the petitioner and senior consultant to the committee the president had dissolved via the late Abba Kyari's March 28 letter had disguised himself and reappeared as the chairman of the new recovery committee championed by Hon. Gudaji, the president rescinded the endorsement he had given and requested that it be stopped operating under the seal of his office,” Shehu further explained.
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Following controversies following a claim of a missing N89.09tn being embezzled from stamp duties, the presidency on Tuesday said the claims were false.
He also said that the total banking sector deposits in Nigeria did not amount to half of N89tn.
"It is now apparent that the claims of consultants and petitioners regarding an N89tn missing stamp duty appear to be false and the figment of their malevolent imaginations. The same group of consultants claimed in 2016 that there was N20tn to collect. It turned out to be fake. The entire banking sector deposit is not even half of N89 trillion.
"Indeed, if the federal government can find N89tn Naira, it can pay off all its debt, both in foreign and local currency and all state government debt and it is left with even more N10tn," a statement signed on Tuesday evening by the president's spokesman, Garba Shehu, read.
The statement was titled Stamp Duty: Facts Nigerians Must Have.
In an interview with BBC Hausa last Friday, the lawmaker representing Kazaure, Roni, Gwiwa and Yankwashi Constituency of Jigawa State in the Lower Houses alleged that the Presidential Committee on Reconciliation and the restoration of all stamp duties had accused some government agencies of sabotaging the committee's efforts.
According to Kazaure, who said he was the secretary of the committee, he found that N89.09tn had so far been made from deductions by the banks, but these had not reached the chests of the FG.
He alleged the connivance of certain agents critical of the regime, including the Central Bank of Nigeria, the office of the Secretary to the Federation Government and the Protocol Department of the State House, preventing him from brief the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (Retired) on the findings.
But in reaction to Tuesday's claims, the presidency said there was a committee empowered by the president to seek to recover a sum of N20tn allegedly lost to the Nigerian interbank settlement system, the president revoked his approval upon carrying out the actual plan of said committee.
Related News
He explained that this "anomaly" arose because certain characters apparently formed a cartel with collaborators of the Nigerian Postal Service and allegedly collected and pocketed tokens from banking transactions.
Soon after, a non-governmental organization claimed to the regime that the Nigerian government had lost the sum of more than 20 billion naira to the Nigerian interbank settlement system between 2013 and 2016 on this respect, saying that the said sum could be recovered and returned to the government's coffers.
"The consultants requested to be paid a professional fee of 7.5% and were placed under the supervision of the Secretary of the Federation Government.
"Following the lack of progress in the promised recovery, the late chief of staff of the president, Abba Kyari wrote on March 8, 2018 to the SGF transmitting a presidential directive which following the absence of progress and several expressed concerns received, the activities of the consultants be discontinued.
“Following this dismissal, the consultants sued the government. A competent court subsequently ruled in favor of the government,” the presidency noted in the statement.
He said that following the outcome of the litigation and the controversy over which agent was legally responsible for collecting this levy, the regime brought about a change in the law and removed NIPOST from the duty of its collection.
Shehu claimed that those fired were going back to the drawing board to formulate some form of ruse to intimidate the government but vigilant administration teams were keeping them at bay.
“Lately they have returned to government through the Hon. Muhammadu Kazaure with plan to follow up on so-called lost stamp duty with former consultant as president and Hon. Gudaji as secretary.
"When it emerged that the petitioner and senior consultant to the committee the president had dissolved via the late Abba Kyari's March 28 letter had disguised himself and reappeared as the chairman of the new recovery committee championed by Hon. Gudaji, the president rescinded the endorsement he had given and requested that it be stopped operating under the seal of his office,” Shehu further explained.
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