By Chimezie Godfrey
The management of Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) has said the Stamp Duties Account was opened by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and that NIPOST had no opportunity, privilege or access to it.
This is contained in a statement signed by the Postmaster General/CEO, NIPOST, Rt Hon. Sunday Adeyemi Adepoju made available to the press on Friday in Abuja.
Adepoju said the allegation that there were characters within the NIPOST who collaborated with the CBN to embezzle the missing N89.09trn stamp duty fund was not true.
He said,”The attention of the management of Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) has been drawn to media reports on controversy trailing the allegedly missing N89.09tr ( Eighty-nine trillion, nine million Naira) stamp duty fund. The report alleged among others that “certain characters apparently formed a cartel with collaborators in the Nigerian Postal Service and were allegedly collecting and pocketing the money.”
“The stamp duty account was opened by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) under the Treasury Single Account (TSA) in consultation with the office of the Accountant General of the Federation in the name of NIPOST Stamp Duties Collection Account.
“This is an account which NIPOST had absolutely no opportunity, privilege or access to. It was NIPOST’s in name only.
“All deductions of stamp duties for and on behalf of NIPOST were carried out by the Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) at source and directly remitted to the said dedicated NIPOST Stamp Duties Account with the Central Bank of Nigeria and the total aggregated collection stood at Fifty- nine billion, three hundred million naira (N59.3 billion) only as at May, 2020, when it was moved to the Federation Account following the controversy with Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) as to which of agency of Government has the right to collect stamp duty.
“For the record, NIPOST is not aware of any cartel allegedly collecting and pocketing money belonging to the Government on stamp duty and no such monies as mentioned came into NIPOST’s account.”
