Underemittance: Reps Place NEPZA, Export Promotion Council under status enquiry

JONAS EZIEKE, Abuja

For failing to remit all its Internally Generated Revenue IGR to the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Nigerian federation in line with the provision of the Fiscal Responsibility Act FRA 2007, the House of Representatives has placed the Nigerian Export Promotion Zones Authority NEPZA and the Nigeria Export Promotion Council NEPC under status enquiry.

The Hon.James Faleke led House Committee on Finance took the decision on Wednesday at an investigative hearing on revenue remittances following the discrepancies in the projected revenue and remittances by the two agencies in the documents supplied to the probe panel.

The Committee while scrutinizing the submission of the NEPZA on its revenue remittances immediately rejected the submission of its documents on the grounds that it was disjointed and incoherent to lawmakers

While appearing before the panel the Director of Finance and Accounts of NEPZA Mr Oyeniran Oyekunle had told the committee that the agency had saved by remitting N140 billion to government coffers.

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Notwithstanding this revelation, a member of the committee Hon. Stanley Olajide said that there is shortfall in the revenue remittances of the agency adding that the document presented by the agency is disjointed.

Similarly the Executive Director of NEPC Dr Ezra Yakusak who also appeared  at the panel said generated N6 billion whereas it projected only N3.9 billion in 2021.

He added that NEPC had earlier generated N167 million and remitted N121 million to the government coffers.

But the lawmakers equally picked holes with the issue saying that it did not capture the agency’s projected revenue.

Again Hon.Olajide raised issues with this figures saying that the agency has skeleton in it’s cupboard in terms of remittances.

Consequently, the Committee deputy chairman Hon Abdullahi Seidu in his ruling said that the two agencies are placed under status enquiry by the committee.

He added that all all fully funded government agencies are expected to remit their IGR to the government 100 per cent.

The NEPC was established by an Act of National Assembly to promote the development and diversification of Nigeria’s export trade.

As at June 2022 the agency according to its website had projected that Nigeria’s non oil export will increase by 40% following the establishment of the export trade house in Egypt by the agency.

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