In a daring operation, gunmen have kidnapped a senior official of the Rivers State Board of Internal Revenue.

The victim, identified as Aribibia Fubara, was abducted on Saturday at the Okrika Waterfront near the Marine Base in Port Harcourt, the state capital.

Eyewitnesses reported that the assailants, numbering about six, stormed the area in a speedboat.

They fired gunshots into the air, creating panic and dispersing bystanders, before whisking away their target. The incident appeared to be a well-coordinated and pre-planned operation.

As of the time of this report, it remains unclear if the kidnappers have contacted Fubara’s family to demand a ransom.

Confirming the incident, the spokesperson for the Rivers State Police Command, Grace Iringe-Koko, said, “The command is aware of the incident, and the CP (Commissioner of Police, Tunji Disu) has directed tactical units in the command to ensure that the victim is released unhurt. A manhunt has been launched to arrest the perpetrators and bring them to book.”

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The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has announced a staggering ₦1.9 trillion increase in revenue over the past year, marking a substantial rise from its previous financial performance.

The Comptroller-General (C-G) of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed this achievement during a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, highlighting the Service’s efforts and successes under his leadership.

Adeniyi underscored the NCS’s impressive 74% growth in revenue collection, reaching a total of ₦4.49 trillion between June 2023 and May 2024, compared to ₦2.58 trillion in the corresponding period of the previous year.

He attributed this remarkable performance to a consistent 70.13% increase in average monthly revenue collection, amounting to ₦343 billion per month, up from ₦202 billion previously. Notably, the first quarter of 2024 alone saw a notable 122.35% surge in revenue collection compared to the same period in the previous year.

The C-G highlighted several factors contributing to this success, including the recovery of ₦15 billion through the Revenue Review Performance Recovery exercise, ₦2.79 billion from the regularization of uncustomed vehicles’ documentation within a 90-day window, and ₦1.5 billion from the decongestion of 1,705 overtime containers and 981 vehicles at ports.

In a bid to stabilize exchange rates for imports, Adeniyi confirmed that the NCS has commenced collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). He expressed concern over the disruptive impact of fluctuating exchange rates on business planning, underscoring the necessity of achieving stability in this regard.

The C-G also highlighted the NCS’s remarkable improvement in governance performance rankings, noting a significant leap from a lower position to achieving a perfect score of 100%, tying with other top-performing agencies.

This transformation, he emphasized, resulted from effective trade facilitation measures implemented over the past year.

Adeniyi further detailed operational enhancements, such as the designation of a dedicated export terminal at Lilypond Command, which significantly boosted processing efficiency. Initially managing 317 Single Goods Declarations (SGDs), the terminal now handles 7,464 SGDs, representing 19.49% of the total 38,294 export transactions recorded in 2023.

By the first quarter of 2024, this figure had increased to 10,786 transactions, with 29.32% processed through the dedicated export terminal.

Regarding anti-smuggling efforts, the C-G reported substantial interceptions, high-value seizures, and numerous arrests, including the confiscation of 63 shipments related to animal and wildlife products valued at ₦566 million.

Adeniyi concluded by reaffirming the NCS’s commitment to sustaining these achievements through continued innovation, collaboration, and stringent enforcement measures, ensuring robust revenue generation and trade facilitation across Nigeria’s borders.

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“From approximately N11 billion under the previous administration, we have witnessed a substantial leap to between N26 and N27 billion in just about one year of our tenure,” Governor Fubara disclosed.

The governor made this declaration during an address to members of the House of Representatives Committee on Public Account, who paid a courtesy visit to him at the Government House in Port Harcourt on Friday to commend his administration for hosting their retreat.

Expressing gratitude to the Reps Committee for choosing Rivers for their retreat, Governor Fubara assured that the increased funds would be primarily channeled into agriculture, education, and healthcare sectors.

“Our visit here challenges negative perceptions about the state and reaffirms our commitment to good governance despite prevailing political crises,” Governor Fubara affirmed.

Highlighting some of his administration’s milestones, the governor cited the promotion of over 52,000 civil servants who had not seen promotion for 11 years, resulting in a rise in the state’s wage bill.

Fubara reiterated his administration’s stance on combating social vices through education and job creation.

Drawing from his prior experience as the Accountant General of Rivers State, Fubara emphasised transparency and accountability in managing state resources, noting that a majority of projects have been funded through IGR without resorting to borrowing.

In addressing the political unrest in Rivers State, Governor Fubara praised his Deputy, Ngozi Odu, for standing by him amidst internal opposition within their party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The House of Representatives Committee on Public Account, led by Chairman Bamidele Salam, commended Governor Fubara for his dedication to good governance despite political challenges, acknowledging Rivers State as a model for others to emulate.

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In the latest disbursement of funds, the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), has distributed a total of N1.123 trillion March 2024 Federation Account Revenue among the three tiers of government following its April meeting in Abuja.

According to a statement by Bawa Mokwa, Director of Press and Public Relations at the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, several key revenue streams experienced fluctuations.

Import duty, value-added tax (VAT), gas royalty, companies’ income tax (CIT), and others saw notable increases, while excise duty, oil royalty, Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT), Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL), and CET Levies witnessed declines.

The breakdown of the total distributable revenue revealed that N311.233 billion was from distributable statutory revenue, N511.879 billion from distributable VAT revenue, N14.754 billion from EMTL revenue, and N285.525 billion from exchange difference revenue.

With a total revenue of N1.867 trillion available in March 2024, deductions for the cost of collection amounted to N69.537 billion, leaving N674.880 billion for transfers, interventions, and refunds.

March 2024 saw a gross statutory revenue of N1.017 trillion, marking a decrease of N175.212 billion from February 2024. However, VAT revenue experienced an increase, reaching N549.698 billion compared to N460.488 billion in the previous month.

The distribution of the total revenue saw the Federal Government receiving N345.890 billion, state governments N398.689 billion, and local government councils N288.688 billion. Mineral-producing states received an additional N90.124 billion as part of their 13% mineral revenue share.

From the distributable statutory revenue, the Federal Government received N133.960 billion, state governments N67.946 billion, and local government councils N52.384 billion.

Additionally, N56.943 billion was shared with mineral-producing states as derivation revenue.

The breakdown of the distributable VAT revenue showed the Federal Government received N76.782 billion, state governments N255.940 billion, and local government councils N179.158 billion. Meanwhile, EMTL revenue of N14.754 billion was shared, with the Federal Government receiving N2.213 billion, state governments N7.377 billion, and local government councils N5.164 billion.

Also, exchange difference revenue of N285.525 billion was allocated, with the Federal Government receiving N132.935 billion, state governments N67.426 billion, and local government councils N51.983 billion. Mineral-producing states also received N33.181 billion as derivation revenue.

The Excess Crude Account (ECA) currently holds a balance of $473,754.57.

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The committee, presided over by the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, distributed this revenue among the Federal Government, States, and Local Government Councils.

The breakdown of the N1,149.816 trillion distributable revenue includes N463.079 billion from statutory revenue, N391.787 billion from Value Added Tax (VAT), N15.922 billion from Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL), and N279.028 billion from Exchange Difference revenue.

In January 2024, total revenue of N2,068.154 trillion was available, with deductions for collection costs at N78.412 billion, transfers, interventions, and refunds at N639.926 billion, and savings at N200.000 billion.

The gross statutory revenue of N1,151.808 trillion for January 2024 marked an increase of N276.426 billion compared to December 2023. However, the VAT revenue decreased to N420.733 billion, down by N71.773 billion from December 2023.

From the total distributable revenue, the Federal Government received N407.267 billion, State Governments received N379.407 billion, and Local Government Councils received N278.041 billion. Additionally, N85.101 billion (13% of mineral revenue) was allocated to benefiting States as derivation revenue.

The distributable statutory revenue of N463.079 billion saw the Federal Government receiving N216.757 billion, State Governments receiving N109.942 billion, and Local Government Councils receiving N84.761 billion. Another N51.619 billion (13% of mineral revenue) was shared as derivation revenue.

The distributable VAT revenue of N391.787 billion resulted in the Federal Government receiving N58.768 billion, State Governments receiving N195.894 billion, and Local Government Councils receiving N137.125 billion.

Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) of N15.922 billion was shared, with the Federal Government receiving N2.388 billion, State Governments receiving N7.961 billion, and Local Government Councils receiving N5.573 billion.

Exchange Difference revenue of N279.028 billion was distributed, with the Federal Government receiving N129.354 billion, State Governments receiving N65.610 billion, and Local Government Councils receiving N50.582 billion. Additionally, N33.482 billion (13% of mineral revenue) was shared as derivation revenue.

In January 2024, there were notable increases in Companies’ Income Tax (CIT), Import Duty, Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT), and Oil and Gas Royalties. Conversely, Value Added Tax (VAT), Export Duty, Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL), and CET Levies experienced significant decreases.

The Economic Stabilisation Fund (ESF) held a balance of $473,754.57 at the close of January 2024.

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The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) says it has shared a total sum of N966.110 billion July 2023 Federation Account Revenue to the Federal Government, States, and Local Government Councils respectively.

Contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting for August 2023, a statement by the Director of Press and Public Relations under the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Bawa Mokwa, said Tuesday.

The meeting, reportedly chaired by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, explained that the N966.110 billion total distributable revenues comprised distributable statutory revenue of N397.419 billion, distributable Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue of N271.947 billion, Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) revenue of N12.840 billion and Exchange Difference revenue of N283.904 billion

In July 2023, the total deductions for the cost of collection were N62.419 billion and the total deductions for savings, transfers, refunds, and tax credit cancellation were N717.962 billion.

Also, the balance in the Excess Crude Account (ECA) for last month was put at $473,754.57.

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The Chairman, Oyo State Board of Internal Revenue (BIR), Aremo John Adeleke stated this recently in a chat with newsmen at his office in Ibadan, adding that the State would rather look into areas that were not captured in the State’s tax net to improve internally generated revenue.

Adeleke said the plans of governor Seyi Makinde’s government is to build and nurture the growth of SMEs in the State and not to burden them with heavy tax that could drive them out of business.

“It is in line with the promise of governor Seyi Makinde to empower small scale businesses in the State to propel growth in our economy.

“As he works assiduously to attract foreign and domestic investments to the State, he is also working to establish and sustain small and medium scale industries in Oyo State. So the idea of tax increment on businesses is not even to be discussed here. We will rather nurture them to grow and be self-sustaining than to over-burden them with tax.

“The government nonetheless expects all SMEs to comply with all extant tax laws, especially  the ones on personal assessment of business proprietors, withholding tax and VAT payable to the State.”

Aremo Adeleke enjoined commercial vehicle owners and drivers as well as motorcycle riders and owners to collect necessary documents from approved agencies and tax stations under Oyo State internal Revenue Services instead of doing same in neighboring States.

He said  “We assure everyone of quick turnaround time of registering or renewing vehicle documents. We also promise all our patrons quick availability of number plates for all categories of vehicles.”

Adeleke used the occasion to call on staffers of the board of internal revenue to be quick, responsive and work with utmost integrity and professionalism which he said was the best way to support the present administration in its drive for improved internally-generated revenue.

The post We Will Not Increase Tax To Improve IGR – Oyo Govt Assures first appeared on MegaIcon Magazine.

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The Director-General of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, Segun Awolowo, disclosed this in Abuja in his presentation to the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

Awolowo told the council that this was due to the crash “in oil prices which resultant effect was recession.”

Addressing State House reporters after the six-hour closed-door meeting, Awolowo said his presentation was on a plan to restructure the economy to survive without crude oil.

He said he also informed the council on the need to rapidly ramp up non-oil exports “As our future earnings from crude oil faces significant headwinds.”

He said the zero oil plan aimed at earning at least $30 billion from non-oil sources in the near to medium term as against the current earnings of about $5 billion.

“The objectives of zero oil plan is to add $150 billion to Nigeria foreign reserves the next 10 years, create 500,000 jobs, lift 10 million Nigerians out of poverty and integrate each state of the federation into the export value chain.

“The focus of the plan is on the export of the following crops – rice, wheat, corn, palm oil, rubber, hides and skin, sugar, soya beans and automotive parts among others,” Awolowo stated.

He listed destination countries for Nigeria’s exports as including Netherlands, China, Iran, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy, India and Saudi Arabia.

He said the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) briefed the NEC on the states export development Initiative being pursued as a medium to long term strategic plan aimed at stimulating and increasing deliberate funding intervention to small and medium enterprises in the non-oil sector for attainment of its objectives.

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