'Tax reform committee collected N5 billion from FIRS' - Nami

The Taiwo Oyedele’s Tax Reform Committee collected N5 billion from the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to fund its operations, the immediate past executive chairman of the Service, Muhammad Nami, disclosed yesterday.

He said this while reacting to an allegation of fund appropriation, explaining that the current Executive Chair of the Service, Zacch Adedeji, was in the know of the movement of the money.

His words: “The N5 billion paid to the Joint Tax Board was paid to fund the activities of the Presidential Committee on Tax and Fiscal Policy Reforms two months before I left office. It was paid after we received a letter to that effect from the office of Mr. President signed by Zacch Adedeji himself.”

Nami, who defended his actions while in office, said the action was within the ambit of the law and within the lawful powers he exercised then as Executive Chairman.

Nami, who stated this in his verified X social media account, also revealed that he left N129 billion in the covers of the FIRS while he inherited a paltry N1.4 billion from his predecessor.

“I inherited only N1.4 billion in the purse of the FIRS when I assumed office. I left N129 billion in the purse of the Service when I left,” he stated.

He also dispelled insinuation that he hurriedly left the country after handing over saying, “The report maliciously attempts to portray a picture that I hurriedly left the country on September 16th after these so-called suspicious approvals were made.

“Again, nothing can be further from the truth. If I traveled out of the country on the 16th of September, how then did I attend the handover ceremony with M Zacch on the afternoon of Monday 18th September 2023?”

He denied that he approved N11 billion immediately after he was booted out of office.

He narrated what transpired thus: “I want to categorically state that after my exit as FIRS Executive Chairman, I made no such approvals as claimed in the report.

“Fundamentally: It is important to note that no payment was made by the Service after the announcement of my pre-retirement leave as claimed by this story. Approval for payment in the Service is one step of the payment journey.

“It is the custom that when a new Executive Chairman resumes office, he would review, validate and make final authorization before any payments can be made.”

He added that all decisions reached and extant liabilities/ commitments of the Service during his stay in office were contained in the handover notes he made available to his successor, Mr. Zacch Adedeji.

“He is fully briefed on everything. For clarity the items listed in the Cable Newspaper Report were part of the N16 billion outstanding commitments contained in our handover note,” he stated.