There is no end in sight over crisis of Stamp Duty Collection rocking the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Nigeria Postal Service and Telecommunications (NIPOST) with both ahencies resorting to twitter war.
The latest developmemt followed the FIRS declaring that NIPOST has been operating illegal Stamp Duty Accounts, insisting that its within powers as an internal revenue generating agency, said, NIPOST’s claims was an illegality.
But reacting through series of tweets, NIPOST denied of operating any illegal account.
In its reaction on Saturday, on the official Twitter handle, NIPOST described FIRS’s claims as false, maintaining that FIRS should stop misinforming the public.
NIPOST further explained that the account was opened by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) under the Treasury Single Account (TSA) in consultation with the office of the Accountant General of the Federation.
It said the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) ordered Deposit Money Banks to commence deduction of N50 Stamp Duties from Bank customer accounts into the account.
‘’The Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) attention has been drawn to a publication by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) that NIPOST operated an illegal stamp duty account.
According to the publication, the Director of Communication and Liaison of FIRS made the statement in a series of tweets.’’
‘’We hereby state categorically that the statement is false and was made to misinform and mislead members of the public.’’
‘’The account the Director of Communication FIRS made reference to as illegal was opened by the Central Bank of Nigeria under the Treasury Single Account (TSA) in consultation with the office of Accountant General of the Federation, in the name of NIPOST Stamp Duties Collection Account when CBN gave instruction to Deposit Money Banks (DMB) to commence the deduction of #50 stamp duties from bank customers accounts.’’
‘’The account belongs to the Federation and NIPOST does not have access to whatsoever monies lodged into the account, as such the question of illegality and misappropriation does not arise.’’
Citing its laws, it explained that NIPOST Act 2004 provides and vests solely in NIPOST the power to print adhesives postage stamps, which is the instrument for denoting documents and other transaction instruments in compliance with the provisions of the Stamp Duties Act.
NIPOST expressed surprise over vituperation of FIRS over its statutory mandate, even as the
agency called out the Chairman, NIPOST Board, Barrister Maimuna Yaya Abubakar, who just brought the attention of the Service and public that the agency would be emasculated if its was not properly implemented.
NIPOST recalled that a meeting previously held in 2013 in the office of the Executive Chairman of FIRS, resolved that NIPOST remained the appropriate agency to provide the stamps to be used by FIRS at both federal and state levels.
Hajia Maimuna reminded the FIRS
that NIPOST is a government agency established by Decree 41 of 1992 with the function to develop, promote and provide adequate and efficiently coordinated postal services at reasonable rates.
