Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) is planning to introduce Road Infrastructure Tax to generate funding for road construction, rehabilitation, maintenance, and security, the agency’s Executive Chairman, Muhammad Nami, said in a statement via an aide: “The only way to make the informal sector contribute to building a modern society is by making them pay when they use the roads. That is why we are proposing that government should consider introducing Road Infrastructure Tax in Nigeria.” .

Full Statement

FIRS Proposes Road Infrastructure Funding Scheme For Nigeria

The Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, says it is proposing the introduction of Road Infrastructure Tax in Nigeria, to make the informal sector contribute to building a modern society.

Executive Chairman of FIRS, Muhammad Mamman Nami, disclosed this on Thursday while receiving a delegation of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, led by its National President, Chris Isiguzo, in his office, in Abuja.

Nami said the proposed Road Infrastructure Tax to be administered by FIRS, will provide government with adequate funding for road construction, rehabilitation, and maintenance, as well as providing the needed security for roads in the country.

According to the FIRS Executive Chairman, “The only way to make the informal sector contribute to building a modern society is by making them pay when they use the roads.” He stated.

“That is why we are proposing that government should consider introducing Road Infrastructure Tax in Nigeria.“

Speaking further, Nami stated that Nigeria’s economy presently relies heavily on non-oil revenues to discharge its statutory responsibility of paying salaries and providing social amenities to the citizenry.

Nami also stated that despite sharp practices by some companies who were in the habit of evading taxes, by shifting their capital and profits to tax havens, as well as low revenue from Petroleum Profit Tax, due to the shortfall in crude oil production among other factors, the FIRS has been putting forward critical reforms that have been yielding positive impact on the Service’s operations.

“Adopting technology in tax administration is crucial in improving domestic revenue mobilization in view of dwindling oil prices in order to avoid falling into debt crisis. It is against this backdrop that the TaxPro-Max became the channel for filing Naira-denominated tax returns effectively from 7th June, 2021.

“The TaxPro-Max enables seamless registration, filing of returns, payment of taxes and automatic credit of withholding tax as well as other credits to the Taxpayer’s accounts among other features. The technology also provides a single-view to Taxpayers for all transactions with the Service.” Nami explained.

Muhammad Nami also noted that the management of the Service had established two critical units, the Intelligence, Strategic Data Mining & Analysis Department (ISDMA) and the Tax Incentive Management Department (TIMD) as part of institutional reforms to generate more revenue and forestall revenue leakages.

“While the TaxProMax will serve as the flagship tool for mining data, it will be complemented by other tools that the Intelligence, Strategic Data Mining and Analysis Department department may deploy, with the data engineers in the Department carrying out necessary distillations.

“Management also established the Tax Incentive Management Department to manage, implement and report on tax incentives as provided by relevant extant laws and regulations. The TIMD is specifically in charge of the tax affairs of companies/enterprises enjoying tax exemptions and holidays. Companies enjoying Pioneer incentives, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Cooperative Societies, companies in Export Processing Zones (EPZ), Free Trade Zones (FTZ), Oil and Gas Export Processing Zones (OGEFZ), those engaged in Downstream Gas Utilization and all others enjoying tax holidays are being managed by the TIMD to forestall revenue leakages, such that these companies/enterprises do not use their status as a cover to earn taxable income and refuse to pay tax on such income.” He stated.

Nami added that the service created 10 Value Added Tax, VAT, Regional Coordination Offices across the country to drive collection of VAT.

The FIRS Executive Chairman highlighted that these reforms put in place were already yielding result, including the collection of the sum of N4.2 Trillion between January and September, 2021, the successful facilitation of ISO 27001:2013 Certification of the FIRS’ Exchange of Information Centre, and the achievement of 114.66 percent of the VAT collection target in the first half of the year.

“It will interest you to know that the Service collected a total of N4.2Trillion between January to September, 2021. This feat was achieved as a result of the efficiency and effectiveness of the TaxProMax Solution and intelligence/data we gathered, mined and analyzed in the period under review.

“The Service successfully facilitated both the mock and external audits for the ISO 27001:2013 certification of the Exchange of Information (EOI) centre, to meet international information security management standards,” he said.

Earlier, the NUJ National President, Isiguzo, said the visit of the union was part of his resolve to engage critical institutions as a key stakeholder in charting a way forward for the country’s collective good.

The NUJ president described FIRS as a vital institution in the country, which “requires all the support it needs especially at a time when the country is security-challenged, adversely affected by Covid-19 and faced with FOREX crisis as well as political intrigues from different parts of the nation.”

He said the NUJ has noted closely the FIRS’ “strident efforts to shore up the country’s revenue by deploying technology and the requisite personnel in this regard. Of interest to the Union is your digital technology solution, TaxPro-Max.

“The numbers show that it has assisted in boosting efficiency in tax administration and collection rates across the country.

“However, with your recent admission that only about 44 million out of a possible 100 million plus that pay tax makes it urgent for a robust integrated media campaign to get more Nigerians into the tax net. This the NUJ is willing to spearhead.”

Isiguzo assured the FIRS Executive Chairman and his management team that NUJ will commend the agency where it has done noble.

He however noted that the union will not shy away from criticizing FIRS constructively as well as hold it accountable to the Nigerian people, in line with constitutional guarantee as contained in Chapter 22 of the 1999 Constitution as amended.

Johannes Oluwatobi Wojuola

SA/ Media and Communication to the Executive Chairman, FIRS

October 21, 2021

The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has confirmed that terrorists on Wednesday destroyed a section of Abuja-Kaduna rail track with explosives. This is a dreadful moment considering that the train has been considered a safer alternative to the Abuja-Kaduna road. So, if these terrorists can do this, the implication is that a new dimension of dislocation is evolving.

The nation needs to bring order to the land. If not, railtracks could become modern oil pipelines which need to be secured by parallel actors, via government contracts. So, going all the way to arrest this problem immediately will ensure we do not follow that trajectory.

Nigeria needs a good morning.

he Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has confirmed that suspected bandits on Wednesday destroyed a portion of the Abuja-Kaduna rail track with explosives, forcing a disruption of train services on the route.

According to a report by the Nigerian Tribune newspaper, the Managing Director of the NRC, Fidet Okhiria, said the explosives damaged the rail track at a spot between Dutse and Rijana, an area that had recorded numerous bandits’ attacks along the Kaduna Abuja highway.

Mr Okhiria said the Corporation was making efforts to restore train services on the route.

“Efforts are currently ongoing to ensure that the train services along the Kaduna-Abuja route are fully restored,” the official said.

Earlier, a former senator representing the Kaduna Central district, Shehu Sani, had reported on his Facebook page that suspected bandits attacked the Kaduna-Abuja train. He said the bandits planted an explosive that damaged the rail track and shattered the windshield of the train’s engine, Wednesday evening.

His job is to secure the integrity of autonomous vehicles for BMW Group’s future diving machines. He is an IAM Engineer (Identity and Access Management Engineer) and holds a PhD in Computer Science with focus on Network and Information Security from Universidade do Porto. He had earned an MSc in Computer Security and Forensics from the University of Bedfordshire. He is part of our Cybersecurity and Digital Forensics Faculty.

Dr Francis Nwebonyi in a team at the forefront of creating the next generation software systems for vehicles of the future. And certainly, when it comes to digital security, we like those who hold extremely critical positions in such domains. Dr Nwebonyi will be at Tekedia Live, the Zoom session of Tekedia Mini-MBA, to offer management-level understanding of the domain.

Yes, this will be all management and business insights on how we can build secure businesses in this digital era.

• Thur, Oct 21 | 7pm-8pm WAT | Information Security & Digital Forensics – Dr. Francis Nwebonyi, Critical TechWorks, Portugal

Tekedia Mini-MBA: learn from the best here.

The name ‘Ajaokuta’ has hitherto remained a household name in Nigeria, perhaps owing to how much or often it’s being cited by Nigerians in positions of authority.

It’s noteworthy that the famous Ajaokuta is a Local Government Area (LGA) in Kogi State – the North Central part of Nigeria – where the country’s one of the most significant, if not the most, tech-driven hub(s) is situated.

The Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited (ASCL) alongside Delta Steel Company (DSC) in Delta State, among others, was established in 1979 under the reign of the Late Alhaji Shehu Shagari during the Second Republic in accordance with Section 2 of the National Steel Council Decree No.60 of September 19, 1979 and they were incorporated as Limited Liability Companies.

It was reportedly expected to commence production in 1984. Amusingly, and pathetically too, 34 years after it was designed to kick-start Nigeria’s industrialization, the multi-billion naira Ajaokuta complex is yet to produce steel despite attaining about 98% completion since 1994, having sunk about $10bn into the project. It was recently reported that about $2bn was additionally needed to complete the remaining 2% of the entire project.

It would interest us to note that the ASCL, which is reckoned to be the country’s biggest industrial project, is located on 24,000 hectares of sprawling Greenfield landmass. The steel plant itself is built on 800 hectares of land. The chosen technology for the proposed steel production was the time tested Blast-Furnace, a basic oxygen furnace route.

It was rumoured sometime ago that the President Muhammadu Buhari–led administration was planning to privatize the ASCL whose slogan remains “the bedrock of Nigeria’s industrialization” in its bid to finance the 2018 deficit budget, but the government frantically refuted the insinuation.

As regards the renewed vigour and quest to complete the remaining phase of the ASCL, on 13th December 2018, the Red Chamber of the National Assembly (NASS) graciously gave its approval for one billion dollar ($1bn) to be withdrawn from the Federal Government’s (FG’s)  share of the country’s Excess Crude Account (ECA).

The Senate who acted in line with the consent of the Green Chamber, equally instructed that all monies, loans, grants, and what have you, that may from time-to-time be appropriated and authorized by any tier of government or entity, either local or foreign, should be part of the funding for the completion of the project.

It’s worth noting that the resolution followed the passage of the Ajaokuta Steel Company Completion Fund Bill 2018. The bill slated for concurrence, was presented by the then Senate Leader, Ahmed Lawan, who is now the incumbent President.

The legislation, however, stated that the monies in the fund shall be applied by the minister subject to appropriation by the NASS only for the construction, improvement, extension, enlargement and replacement of infrastructure and works, including the provision, acquisition, improvement and replacement of other capital assets required in respect of or in connection with the completion of the project.

It’s noteworthy that the Ajaokuta integrated steel complex was born out of the then government’s quest for a diversified economy. It was conceived and steadily developed with the vision of erecting a metallurgical process plant cum engineering complex with other auxiliaries and facilities that would help to stimulate the diversified economy.

It was meant to be used to generate important upstream and downstream industrial and economic activities that were critical to the diversification of Nigeria’s economy into an industrial one. It’s, therefore, appalling that several decades down the line, the country is still faced with the old song regarding diversification that ought to have been a thing of the past.

Even though the development that took place in December 2018 in regard to the long awaited completion of the abandoned ASCL unarguably came so late or untimely, concerned Nigerians found joy in the fact that at last, the government had remembered the once forgotten national project.

But the candid question that yearned for answer the moment the NASS signed the bill was: how sincere and determined were the concerned authorities towards doing the needful? This signifies that the teeming citizens understood their leaders so well. Despite the concern raised, three years down the line, nothing absolutely has been heard about the foreseen resuscitation of the dying project.

It’s not anymore news that aside from the steel industry, other moribund sectors have equally been granted similar attention in recent times under the watch of President Buhari who’s apparently keen to diversify the country’s mono-economy. Yet till date, rather than getting tangible positive results, we keep receiving a myriad of excuses. Is it then a function of ineptitude or lack of will?

These impediments witnessed overtime have made most well-meaning Nigerians feel impelled to express grave doubts about the determination of any authority, or officer-in-charge, to aptly initiate, carry out as well as complete any project entrusted upon them.

It’s on this premise I challenge the Ministry of Mines and Steel to prove to the teeming Nigerians that it is ever-ready to do as expected by presenting to the citizenry the modalities worked out towards the completion of the ASCL. It’s imperative to acknowledge that a befitting framework cannot be actualized if the authority acted without reference to the original blueprint of the project.

Similarly, considering that the project was abandoned for many years, some of the completed phases may have broken down, hence there must be cross-examination in this regard towards averting any possible future breakdown when the company becomes practically in use.

It is not arguable that $1bn is a whole lot of money, but considering the market survey concerning the completion of the ASCL as well as the current fall of the naira value, it’s understandable that more funds are urgently required for the project.

Against this backdrop, the government is required to borrow from any individual or entity, particularly indigenous. It’s arguably a capital project of this kind, which would effect tremendous economic growth if completed, that requires borrowing towards its completion. It suffices to say that borrowing ought to be a welcome approach in this regard, but only if the intended fund would be genuinely and aptly utilized.

Then if eventually completed in the long run, having run the company within a reasonable period, the government may decide to sell the shares to the general public, investors in particular, with a view to servicing all the debts incurred in the process. Making the members of the public shareholders, while the government remains the stakeholder, would enable the latter to sustain the ASCL with ease in the long run.

As we greatly appreciate the NASS for approving the lofty move as engineered by the Presidency, it ought to also note that it’s required to use its oversight function to ensure the successful and timely completion of the laudable project. This mustn’t be taken for granted or juxtaposed with politics as usually witnessed in Nigeria.

The executive on its part needn’t be reminded that consulting the cognoscenti in the process cannot be compromised for whatever reason.