By Tunji wusu –
Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) accruable to the Anambra State Government is lost through leaks and the actions of revenue thieves to the tune of about 50%.
In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Awka, Christian Madubuko, executive director in charge of Operations at the Anambra Internal Revenue Service (AIRS), made this statement.
The head of the AIRS income mobilization team, Mr. Madubuko, claimed that out of the 4 billion potential profile, the state was only making about 2 billion every month.
He said that the blacklisted retail banking agent’s deceptive setup led the government to the state taxes that had been diverted.
He added that the police, State Security Service, and other intelligence services had sprang into action and that investigations were still ongoing to determine who the fraud’s beneficiaries were in order to bring them to justice.
Countless illegal revenue collectors had been detained and turned over to the police, according to Mr. Madubuko, and they had been giving useful confessions that would help catch the people they were hired by.
He declared individuals responsible for the “sabotage” to be “enemies of the government” who would face legal action at the State Revenue Court.
“Some internal personnel with whom we reached an agreement purposefully configured the system to divert revenue, which is why we were experiencing leakage with the POS operators.
Although the sum is enormous, the government is often expected to receive $4 billion in IGR each month, but we have been fighting to generate only $2 billion or such.
“Today, everyone is a revenue collector; markets and communities are included. The sad part is that they keep the money they gather for themselves.
“Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s digitized revenue collection method is still efficient. We want to do away with physical tax payments, and we won’t let these money-launderers get away with frustrating this government, he said.
According to Mr. Madubuko, the AIRS is aiming to maximize IGR collection while minimizing suffering for the general public.
He voiced concern over reports of extortion and intimidation by some people while pretending to enforce traffic laws.
“There are numerous complaints, and we are aware that certain personnel are abusing the people they are meant to be defending.
He continued, “We will start training these individuals, and those who collect money from people and put it in their pockets will be detained and prosecuted.”
