By Chimezie Godfrey
The House of Representatives committee on Public Account, has indicted the Federal Inland Revenue (FIRS), Abuja for late as well as non-submissio of its audited accounts.
The chairman, Oluwole Oke, during the ongoing hearing, lamented that for an agency like FIRS to have fall short of accountability.
“This is an agency that monitors the accounts of all companies in the country. An agency that collects tax on behalf of Nigerians, among many other crucial responsibilities.
“That FIRS does not have audited account is a very serious constitutional matter.
“The report of this engagement may lead to enactment of a new procurement law,” Oke said.
The Auditor General for the federation, Mr. Anthony Ayine, prior to the ruling of the committee revealed that FIRS submitted its audited accounts from the year 2014 to 2017, but were submitted late.
He also disclosed that FIRS did not submit its audited account for the year 2018, adding that late submission and non-submission of audited accounts is a violation of the constitution and amounts to gross misconduct.
The Executive Chairman, FIRS, Abuja, Muhammad Mamman Nami, explained that he was only appointment on 9th December, 2019, and therefore could not render a full açcount of what transpired while his predecessors were in office.
However, he mentioned that the organization did not have a functional board to handle the accounts, among other reasons for delay in the submission and non-submission of its audited accounts.
The PAC in its ruling ordered status enquiry to find out the immediate and remote causes of late and non rendition of audited accounts by FIRS, Abuja.
