Federal Government Ordered Investigation Into Military Payroll

The Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, gave the directive in Abuja, yesterday, according to a statement by the Director of press, Alh Salisu, Dambatta. 

The federal government has ordered an investigation into the military payroll as a means of cleaning up what has been perceived as a rot in the military personnel payments.

The full text reads, “Following revelations in the course of the trial of the former Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Alex Badeh, at the Federal High Court, Abuja, that the sum of N558.2 million was allegedly diverted monthly from the Nigeria Air Force account into private pockets, the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, has directed an investigation into the payrolls of the Air Force, the Navy and the Army by the Continuous Audit Team of the Federal Government.

“The Continuous Audit team has been charged with the responsibility of scrutinizing the payrolls of the three services, which have not yet been put on the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), to ensure that all possible loopholes that could lead to leakages were blocked.

“The exercise will be conducted pending the biometric capturing and migrating the payroll of the three services to the IPPIS, in line with the policy of the Federal Government to clean up the payroll of all public sector employees.

“The Minister of Finance said that the measure has become necessary as part of the change mantra of the Administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, which include the restoration of the culture of transparency, accountability and control in the management of public funds.

“The Continuous Audit Process was one of the initiatives of the Minister approved by President Muhammadu Buhari as part of the on-going reforms in the public finance management system of the federal government, which he emphasised in his 2016 Budget speech.

“Mrs. Kemi Adeosun said the Director of Special Projects in the Ministry of Finance, Mr. Mohammed Kyari Dikwa, will head the Continuous Audit Team and report their findings for appropriate action by the Federal Government.”

…To review tax system for higher non-oil revenue

Meanwhile, the minister has said that the federal government would mobilize more revenue from the non-oil sector to finance this year’s budget.

In a keynote address at the opening ceremony of the 18th annual tax conference of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) in Abuja, the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, who represented President Muhammadu Buhari, stressed the need for a robust tax system, which he described as a pre-requisite for any economy that is serious in its commitment to growth and development.

The Minister said, “I carefully read the communiqué arising from the tax conference held last year and I acknowledge the remarkable insight of the diagnosis that ‘Nigeria is experiencing growth without development. I think that the CITN set out clearly the fiscal priorities needed to underpin our economic agenda in a concise manner. Tax collection must grow in line with growth in the economy but this has not been the recent case in Nigeria and that is our challenge.”

Stressing the resolve of the current administration to mobilise revenue from the non-oil sector, Mrs. Adeosun stated the prevailing tax system must reflect the nature of the nation’s commercial activity levels. She noted that oil is just 13 per cent of our GDP but it represents a disproportionate share of our tax revenue, promising that Government will develop a framework that will mobilise revenue from the non-oil sector.

The Minister explained that the nation’s tax system must be dynamic in order to respond to an ever-evolving commercial landscape and to increasingly technology-driven business models.

She stated that the Federal Government, as part of the drive to increase non-oil revenue, has set an aggressive target for increasing tax collection. This, according to her, is a reflection of the fact that the current level of compliance is low and in some cases, the effective tax rate paid by those that are compliant is lower than expected. She added that the commendable administrative efforts of FIRS would be complemented by an overhaul of the tax code and tax laws.

She disclosed that the Federal Government plans to engage with relevant members of the National Assembly to ensure that required revisions, amendments and new laws can be passed expediently to keep pace with the rapid change in business practices.

The Minister admitted “An overhaul of our tax code is long overdue as is the redrafting of our tax laws to reflect current business practices and new trends. We must respond to the growing phenomenon of base shifting and other practices that allow companies to evade their fiscal and legal responsibilities.

“We will critically examine our GDP to align taxes with economic activity in our bid to block all leakages. For example, the multi-billion naira losses being identified in our solid minerals sector by illegal and undocumented miners will be addressed with increased formalisation and review of the governing laws. Indeed, we are committed to the continuous improvement of our tax system as part of a dynamic framework. We will use tax administration and technology to widen compliance and encourage more individuals and companies into the tax net.”