Governors under the umbrella of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) have set up a three-man committee to probe the alleged non-remittance of N20 trillion stamp duty revenue to the federation account. This was disclosed by the NGF chairman and Zamfara State governor, Abdulaziz Yari, after a meeting of the forum on Wednesday night in Abuja. According to him, the committee will be chaired by Ogun State governor, Ibidokun Amosun, with governors of Niger and Akwa Ibom states as members. Governor Yari said, “Members received a briefing from the consortium of consultants pursuing the stamp duties revenue owed to states. They gave a brief on the current situation and actions that should be taken towards moving forward. “The members agreed to set up a three-man committee to look into the matter raised and were given a week to submit their report.” Eyes Of Lagos recalls that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had, through a circular issued on January 15, 2016, directed banks to deduct N50 stamp duty on deposits made into current accounts with a value of N1, 000. Last year, the Senate alleged that N20 trillion due to be paid into the federation account from stamp duty charges on bank transactions was withheld between 2015 and 2017. The Senate said the projections for stamp duty in the 2015, 2016 and 2017 revenue frameworks of the nation’s yearly budget were put at N8.713 billion, N66.138 billion and N16.96 billion. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) reportedly declared in 2013 that stamp duty revenue from five states only was over N160 billion. Meanwhile, Governor Yari also said members received a briefing from the minister for trade and investment on the status report on the opportunities at the sub-national level in terms of business climate reforms as a reference resource for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and the general business community. He added that the governors committed to reviewing the African Continental Trade Agreement and to revert to the ministry for further action. Disclosing that members received a briefing from consortium of consultants on the harmonisation of traffic data management system in the country, Yari said members appointed the governors of Jigawa and Kano states to oversee the action plan and report to the forum.. On the security situation in the country, Yari said the governors would support the security agencies with logistics.
