Zacheus Adedeji, Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), has voiced opposition to the N2.59 trillion Tax Credit Scheme initiated by former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration for road construction.
This comes as the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) clarified a $3.3 billion loan facility secured for the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to stabilize the naira in the foreign exchange market.
Speaking before the Senate Committee on Finance alongside NNPCL’s Chief Financial Officer, Umoru Ajiya, Adedeji criticized the legality of the scheme during the hearing. While Ajiya highlighted the scheme’s contribution to road rehabilitation across the country’s six geopolitical zones with N664 billion already expended, Adedeji argued that the scheme was unauthorized and should be terminated.
Adedeji emphasized that the responsibility of paying contractors should fall under the Ministry of Works, urging adherence to its core mandate of awarding road contracts and disbursing payments.
Chairman of the Senate committee, Senator Sani Musa, concurred with Adedeji’s stance, citing constitutional provisions that mandate all government agency revenues to be remitted into the consolidated revenue fund.
Regarding the $3.3 billion loan facility, NNPCL informed committee members that it was secured to assist the CBN in stabilizing forex rates to curb volatility.
