WHISTLEBLOWING: Tax officials jittery as govt suspends 2 top officials, more may follow

The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun on Sunday announced that two senior tax officials in Delta and Benue States have been suspended following verified tips from Whistle-blowers.

She also hinted that her ministry is currently analysing no less than 200 whistleblowing tips “including recordings between tax officials and potential taxpayers” in which varying corruption practices have been identified.

The minister stated this in a series of tweets on her twitter handle after presiding over “a meeting of ministry’s Whistleblower Unit and the Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit (PICA),” in Abuja.

She said, “We held the meeting to review our tax administration and revenue collection efforts so far, and also discuss how we can reform and improve existing processes and systems.

‏”We have commenced the process of sanitising Nigeria’s tax administration and revenue collection system. Already @FinMinNigeria has requested and secured the suspension of two senior Tax Officials in Delta and Benue States based on verified tips from Whistle-blowers.

“@FinMinNigeria is currently analysing more than 200 whistleblowing tips including recordings between tax officials and potential taxpayers in which various practices, designed to reduce tax payable, were outlined in detail.

“We have whistleblower reports of tax officers demanding bribes, promising to procure backdated tax clearance certificates, and offering to conspire to reduce taxes payable. All are being investigated and analysed, and we will take decisive action.

“I have directed the reorganization of @FinMinNigeria’s Whistleblower Unit to enable them fast-track the analysis of reports related to @AsoRock’s revenue generating agencies.

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“Encouraging our citizens to pay taxes is a matter of law but it is also a matter of trust. Those who work in our tax offices must therefore demonstrate the highest level of integrity.

“The @MBuhari Administration understands that to reduce our reliance on oil means every citizen must pay their taxes as and when due. However, people will not be encouraged to pay if they believe that those involved in the assessment are not transparent or are dishonest.”

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