Juliet Akoje in Abuja.
The House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee (PAC), has queried the payment of N15 billion to Remita, from the Office of the Accountant General for the Federation (OAGF).
The committee at the resumed investigative hearing, yesterday, accused the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Commercial Banks of complicity in the sharing of the N15 billion remittance.
Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Bamidele Salam, said the payment of N15 billion to Remita from the OAGF from 2016 to 2018 was questionable, adding that the OAGF paid the money without agreement or contract.
Remita is a payment solution that helps individuals and business make and receive payment, pay bills and manage their finances.
The lawmaker, while describing the payment as illegal, said, “The money is an illegal payment; there was no budget provision, so where did they source the money from?
“The CBN also shared in the money. The money is an illegal payment. There was no budget provision, so, where did they source the money from?
“For instance, if someone pays N150,00 as a remitter, you will now pay 7.5 per cent Value-Added Tax (VAT) in addition to it. Ordinarily, that whole sum of VAT ought to go to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), but what they are doing in this transaction is that they will now add that VAT to the N150,00”
“They will add it up, gather the money together, and take it to the CBN. System Spec and Remitta, both collecting revenue for the federal government, will share 50 percent, while the banks and the CBN will also have their share.
“By the time the Committee finished its reconciliation, I am very sure that hundreds of billions of naira will be the VAT component that was not remitted to FIRS. Each bank ought to take the money and directly remit it to FIRS.
“Now, Remita is saying that each of those collecting the money will come and calculate the money that has been shared into shreds. Now, how do we track this kind of money?”
Meanwhile, the Director Banking Services, CBN, Mr Ahmed Abdullahi, said they deemed it fit to source for an alternative way of remitting revenue, and Remita and System Spec were selected because they had been rendering similar services to banks.
Mr. Oyewole Adewale, Chief Accountant, TSA Department, representing the Accountant General for the Federation, accused the CBN of not honoring its letters to reconcile the revenue accrued to the country through TSA.
Mr. Aderemi Atanda, Director, Remita Payment Services Ltd., while reading the summary of the TSA collection record, said that 10, 20, and 50 percent were shared among CBN, commercial banks, and Remita and that collections are usually not static but that they vary.
