In a recent statement, Muhammad Nami, the immediate past chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), clarified the agency’s decision to allocate N5 billion towards funding the activities of the presidential committee on tax and fiscal policy reforms. Nami’s response comes in light of a report by an online newspaper, which alleged that he had approved N11 billion after being asked to proceed on pre-retirement leave by President Bola Tinubu.
Nami emphasized that the reported sum was part of an outstanding commitment of N16 billion to the service, which he had duly included in his hand-over notes to his successor. However, he clarified that no payments were made by the service following the termination of his appointment.
Addressing the allegations, Nami stated, “After my exit as FIRS Executive Chairman, I made no such approvals as claimed in the report. No payment was made by the service after the announcement of my pre-retirement leave, as claimed by this story.”
He further explained that an approval for payment within the service is only the first step in a journey towards payment. Upon assuming office, a new executive chairman would review, validate, and authorize payments before they can be made. Nami added that his successor, Mr. Zacch Adedeji, was fully briefed on all decisions and outstanding liabilities during his tenure.
Highlighting one specific payment, Nami clarified that the N5 billion allocated to the Joint Tax Board was intended to fund the activities of the Presidential Committee on Tax and Fiscal Policy Reforms. This payment was made two months before his departure, following a letter from the office of the president, signed by Zacch Adedeji himself.
In response to the suggestion that he had hastily left the country after the purported “suspicious approvals,” Nami debunked the claim, highlighting his attendance at the handover ceremony with Mr. Zacch on the afternoon of Monday, September 18th, 2023. He expressed disappointment at the Cable newspaper’s attempt to sensationalize these events and cast them in a negative light.
Nami stood firm in defending his decisions during his time in office, asserting that each choice made was done so within the confines of the law and his lawful powers as executive chairman. In addition, he revealed that despite inheriting N1.4 billion at the FIRS, he left the service with N129 billion in its coffers.
