The immediate previous executive chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FRIS), Muhammad Nami, said Wednesday that the Taiwo Oyedele’s Tax Reform Committee received N5 billion from the agency to support its operations.
Responding to a charge of financial appropriation, he stated that Zacch Adedeji, the current Executive Chair of the Service, was aware of the money’s movement.
In his own 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, defending his conduct during his tenure as Executive Chairman, said that the move fell within the bounds of the law and his legitimate authority at the time.
In addition to disclosing that he left N129 billion in the FIRS and received a pitiful N1.4 billion from his predecessor, Nami made these revelations on his verified X social media account.
“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 said.
He also debunked 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 refuted claims that he gave his approval for N11 billion right away after being removed from office.
“I want to categorically state that after my departure as FIRS Executive Chairman, I made no such approvals as claimed in the report,” he said, recounting the events that followed.
“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.”
In his handover notes to Mr. Zacch Adedeji, his successor, he stated that all choices made and ongoing obligations and liabilities of the Service throughout his tenure were included.
“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 confirmed.
