Banks ripping Nigeria of revenue – RMAFC

The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission on Thursday alleged irregularities in the remittances of revenue by some collecting banks.
The Chairman of the RMAFC, Elias Mbam, said this in Abuja while addressing newsmen on the commission’s decision on illegalities being perpetrated by some banks in the remittance of Federal Inland Revenue Services and the Nigeria Customs Sservices revenues.
Mbam said that most of the banks were engaged by the Federal Inland Revenue Service and Nigerian Customs Service.
Mbam said some of the irregularities were excessive bank charges like Commission On Turnover on revenue accounts of the FIRS and NCS.
Mbam said the commission launched a verification and reconciliation of revenue remittances by the banks to block any leakage to the Federation Account.
He said that 53 consulting firms had been appointed to carry out the exercise covering January 2008 to June 2012.
He said that they were given three months to submit their report.
He said: “The consulting firms will work between June 3, 2013 and August 15, 2013 as approved by the Federal Account Allocation Committee at its March 19 meeting.
“The 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria empowers the commission to monitor the accruals into and disbursement from the Federation Account.
“It was in this exercise that both the Non-Oil Monitoring Committee and Mobilisation Department of the commission observed some irregularities in the remittances of revenue from some collecting banks.”
Mbam said the aim of the exercise was to recover any excess deduction and stop leakages in future, for transparency and accountability in revenue remittance into the federation account.
Mbam said the exercise was not an attempt to audit the two agencies.
Rather, he said it was to ensure that the collecting banks complied fully with the terms of their agreement with both agencies.
He said: “The commission has requested the Accountant-General of the Federation to open a special account with the CBN into which all recoveries made shall be deposited.
“From this account, the consultants shall be paid their professional fee and the balance be remitted to the federation account for distribution to the three tiers of government.”
Speaking on behalf of the consultants, Dr. Bert Odiaka assured the commission that they would work together for the interest of the country.
Odiaka solicited for the cooperation of the FIRS, customs, the banks and other stakeholders in carrying out the exercise.
The collecting banks of the two agencies are all the 23 banks in the country.