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The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) on Monday debunked an online report that it supported the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) with N90 billion through Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
The publication in some online and daily newspapers was credited to APC’s former Deputy National Publicity Secretary Timi Frank.
In a statement by FIRS’s Director of Communication & Servicom, Wahab Gbadamosi, said among others things:
- That the entire allegation being spread by one Timi Frank that the Federal lnland Revenue Service spent N90 billion to fund the last election is mendacious, wicked, malicious and a calculated attempt to smear the image of the Service and that of his Excellency, the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.
- This campaign of calumny and villifying false claims are entirely, libellous, unfounded in fact, irresponsible and a brazen assault on the integrity of the Service as a responsible and accountable organisation and clearly demonstrates an abysmal ignorance of the budgetary and expenditure process of the FIRS.
- That in the last four years since Mr. Tunde Fowler has supervised operations at the FIRS, the agency had not received up to N90 billion, per annum, as Cost of Collection from the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC). Mr. Frank and his band of liars might wish to cross-check this from FAAC, a public institution, whose records are open to the public.
- That it is from the remittances from FAAC — which had never grossed up to N100 billion, per annum, that FIRS pays the salary and emoluments and trains it’s over 8000 staff, runs over 150 offices and provides for other needs of the Service.
- That given the above, it is not plausible nor does it make any sense that FIRS will commit its resources to a phantom campaign of N90 billion as suggested by Mr. Timi Frank and FIRS does not fund political associations.”
Urging members of the public to disregard the report as a tissue of lie, Gbadamosi said: “The FIRS is a public trust, which the agency operates on behalf of Nigerians. Taxpayers money – including the operational funds of the Service – are sacred and we exercise, extra care and diligence in expenditures, even after such funds must have been appropriated by the National Assembly.”