The Attorney General of the
Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, has written the 36 state
governors over compliance with Audit and recovery of back years of stamp duty.
The minister’s Special Assistant
on Media and Public Relations, Jibrilu Gwandu, made this known in a press
statement titled “Stamp duty: No recoveries yet as Malami writes 36 governors”
issued on Wednesday.
“Pursuant to Mr. President’s
approval and directives, I also wish to request Your Excellency to direct the
state Ministries, Departments, Agencies, and regulatory institutions of
financial sector to engage and grant access to the appointed recovery agents
for the purpose of the audit and recovery of Stamp Duty to ensure that all
established liabilities are remitted as appropriate,” the letter reads in part.
According to the statement,
recoveries are being conducted for the Federal Ministries, Departments,
Agencies and Financial Institutions.
It added that at this stage,
liabilities are being established, and no actual recovery has been made.
The statement added that Section
III of the Stamp Duty Act granted the Attorney General of the Federation an
exclusive power to recover any outstanding payment or remittances related to
stamp duty.
“The letters were written
pursuant to the provision of Section 111 of the Stamp Duty Act which provides
that “all duties, fines, penalties and debts due to the Government of the
Federation imposed by this Act shall be recoverable in a summarily manner in the
name of the Attorney General of the Federation or the State,” Gwandu stated.
He added that the AGF activated
those powers, conducted the audit and recovery of back years stamp duty with
the collaboration of stakeholders.
Gwandu also stated that the Federal
Government had set up an Inter-Ministerial Committee on Audit and Recovery of
Back years Stamp Duties from January 15, 2016 to June 30, 2020.
“Members of the committee were
drawn from Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice
in collaboration with relevant Agencies including the Office of the Secretary
to the Government of the Federation, Federal Inland Revenue Service, Office of
the Accountant General of the Federation, Ministry of Finance, Central Bank of
Nigeria, Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal Allocation Commission, among others.
“In view of the need to provide a
comprehensive overview of the process and to proper understanding the task, the
Attorney General of the Federation organized a meeting with Attorneys General
of States for they have similar powers with respect of stamp duty of
Ministries, Departments, Agencies and Financial Institutions in their
respective states,” he said.
The idea of interference into financial matters by the person of the Minister of Justice is a new low. It speaks volumes to either the person holding the office, or that the ministry of Justice has lost its mandate. There are legislated structures and systems that deals with such matters. The expectation of the people of Nigeria is for the office holder to pay attention to matters of judiciary concerns pertaining the state and its people, and not financial matter.
ReplyDelete