SUNDAY ODE, Abuja
Aggrieved Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) staff have warned commercial banks to desist from dealing with consultants on issues concerning revenue collection and remittances by Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
The workers under the aegis of Nigeria Civil Service Union ( NLC) and Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (TUC) also put commercial banks in the country “on alert not to entertain any consultants or groups on behalf of the Commission as their (commercial banks) activities at the moment is cosidered illegal.”
Addressing newsmen in Abuja, Chairman of the placard-carrying workers who voiced their grievances through their Chairman, Comrade Amanabo Josiah, disclosed that RMAFC was set to probe 22 Commercial banks over sundry misdemeanours including stamp duty collections which the banks allegedly failed to remit to the federal government despite a secured approval from NEC.
Comrade Josiah noted that the National Economic Council (NEC) recently requested the Commission and not Consultants to probe banks, but surprisingly, companies and firms were having a field day in the premises of the Commission with their proposals.
Specifically, Josiah said upon NEC approval for RMAFC to verify and reconcile revenue collection and remittances by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and Nigeria Custom Services (NCS) from 1st July, 2012-31st December, 2015; the Commission speedily engaged the services of over 100 consultants with a mandate of completing the assignment within six months with effect from 1st November, 2016.
The Chairman who sought urgent intervention by the Presidency as well as the National Assembly to enable RMAFC perform its statutory role, further expressed dismay that the Acting Chairman of the Commission, Alh. Shettima Umar Abagana, was yet to intimate the management team on the modalities to prosecute the assignment given to it three weeks after approval was granted by NEC.
However, decrying questionable remittances and the worker’s predicament under the current RMAFC leadership, Comrade Josiah said despite the over 2000 staffers possessing the requisite qualifications to proseute the Commission’s responsibilities as prescribed by law, they (workers) have been made redundant with the Consultants smiling to the banks.
“Staff of the Commission have noticed with dismay the undue interference with the activities of the commission ranging from the appointment of consultants to carry out functions staff are well capable to handle. As it stands today, on the payroll of the Commission it has professional Accountants, Economists, Statisticians, Forensic Auditors to name but a few.
Nevertheless, he said “no staff of the commission was engaged in carrying out the said assignment despite the requisite qualifications possessed by our staff.”
RMAFC is one of the fourteen executive bodies established by section 153 (1) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, to monitor accruals to and disbursement of revenue from the Federation Account.
“We want to be like other agencies,” Comrade Josiah said
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