By Princess Simon (Bureau Chief, North-Central, in Minna)
Niger State Board of Internal Revenue (BIR), on Monday, sealed the business premises of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) and that of about eight Banks over alleged N456 million debts
The Executive Chairman of the Board, Alhaji Mohammed Madami Etsu, who disclosed this in a statement made available to the in Minna on Monday, September 6, 2021, said the sealing-off was carried out in line with the provisions of the relevant Nigerian Tax laws.
Etsu gave the names of the affected Banks to include; Stanbic IBTC (N113.2 million) Polaris Bank (N74.8 million), UBA (N68.9 million), Union Bank (N47.1million), First Bank (N45.7 million), Heritage Bank (N31.5 million) Unity Bank (N14 million) and GTB (N8.2 million).
Other corporate organizations liable for Tax defaulting, the state BIR Executive Chairman said, included; the AEDC Plc which has a debt standing at N45.8 million, AloeVera International Hotel (N3.9 million), and Rashida Restaurant along Shiroro road (N3.2 million).
While lamenting the failure of private and corporate organizations defaulting in statutory responsibilities, Etsu said all efforts by the BIR to enable the defaulting organizations to pay their respective tax liabilities have not yielded positive results.
Etsu, therefore, wants all debtors to rise up to their statutory responsibilities by paying their outstanding tax liabilities to avoid embarrassments which may not be restricted to sealing-off their offices by the enabling BIR tax laws but by the adoption of other means to recover such debts.
Meanwhile, customers to the AEDC and some of the affected Banks have faulted the clamp-down, insisting that it was wrong for the state government to seal off the business premises and subjecting customers tomorrow untold difficulties.
Oloye Michael, a customer of one of the Banks argued that it is wrong and primitive for the state government to wake up and seal off such businesses to the detriment of customers who know little or nothing going on between the state government and business owners.
“I see what is going on as an affront on the Banks and the AEDC in particular. The two are the most patronized by the citizens. Invariably you will be sending customers out from the premises or even inconveniencing them in order to carry out such orders”, the customer said. NNL.
