BEVERLY HILLS, May 11, (THEWILL) – A pro-Democracy non -governmental group, Human Rights Writers Association Of Nigeria (HURIWA ) has asked the Finance Minister and the coordinator of the Nigerian economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to name, shame and prosecute the erring officials at the Nigerian Investments Promotion Commission (NIPC) who allegedly duped Nigeria of nearly $20 billion in four years through fake waivers.
The rights group said it means little or nothing if the nation is alerted of serious leakages in the revenue generating agencies of the federation through the fraudulent activities of some civil servants in the NIPC but only for these same officials to remain not only anonymous but on their seats without suffering commensurate judicial sanctions for their economic crimes against the nation.
The Rights group said allowing the corrupt and decadent status quo to remain will only give room to impunity which is completely antithetical to democracy and the rule of law.
Okonjo-Iweala had disclosed that the federal government lost huge revenue to tax holidays fraudulently granted companies by NIPC officials. She made the disclosure in a recent letter to NIPC Executive Secretary, Mrs. Saratu Umar, which was reported by a national daily on Sunday.
“The purpose of this letter is to appraise you on apparent abuse in the grant of Pioneer Status (tax holiday) to companies in the country by the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) leading to decline in tax revenues,” wrote the minister in the letter which was copied the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Deziani Alison-Madueke, and her Industries, Trade and Investment counterpart, Olusegun Aganga.
HURIWA also recalled that the newspaper had quoted the minister as having noted that while oil companies were supposed to be taxed 65 per cent in accordance with the Petroleum Profit Tax Act (PPTA), certain officials of NIPC had fraudulently listed such companies under the Industrial Development (Tax Relief) Act and handed them pioneer certificates. HURIWA, in a statement on Monday, said such malpractices amounted to economic sabotage on a grand scale which in some climes like China are punishable upon conviction by death through firing squad.
Nigeria, it says must take punitive action against these economic saboteurs to save the nation’s
economy from the imminent collapse starring us dangerously on our faces.
According to the minister, “Pioneer status (tax holidays) was granted to companies whose products do not meet the requirements of the list of industries or products specified in the schedule.”
HURIWA in the statement endorsed jointly by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, and the National Media Affairs Director, Miss Zainab Yusuf, said government shouldn’t concentrate on issuing out mere letters that amounted to sermons but must be seen to have taken stringent anti-graft measures to bring the indicted officials to face criminal prosecution so the leakages would not only stop but for the lost revenue to be recouped and returned to public treasury.
The Rights group said recovering these huge lost funds would be a better legacy that the current administration can pass on to the incoming government and since government has the means, it does not take ages for the erring officials to be fished out and for criminal prosecution to commence.
