Audit Queries: FG Accuses African Countries of Wooing Companies from Nigeria

Udora Orizu in Abuja

The federal government yesterday  alleged that several African countries are wooing  companies registered and operating in Nigeria to leave the country and relocate to theirs.

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Niyi Adebayo, made this known when he appeared before the House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts to respond to queries from the Auditor General for the Federation (AuGF).

Adebayo, who appeared with heads of agencies under the ministry, said the countries, including Ghana has increased their capital allowances to companies and has already taken away lots of investment from the country.

He also said that what is keeping some companies in Nigeria today is it’s population.

While noting that the government is looking for ways of increasing the level of new investment in the country and sustaining existing ones, the minister, however, assured that the it is doing everything possible to ensure that such companies don’t leave the country.

He said: “Our duty is to support investment growth In Nigeria. It is public knowledge that getting these investment is increasingly becoming difficult today.”

Earlier in his remarks, Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Wole Oke, said several companies operating in the country were in the habit of not paying the required revenue to government leading to lack of revenue for the operation of the government services.

He said: “Nigeria is bleeding. We are borrowing daily to finance our budget and the Minister of Finance has said the reason we are borrowing is because we are not collecting the revenue we are supposed to collect. The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment has issued some instruments which earned companies tax breaks and tax holiday. But this scheme has been abused by the companies. When some of these companies appeared before this committee, we noticed from their presentation elements of tax invasion. There is a company that put up a show and usurp the function of NEPZA who are supposed to remit its operating surplus.

“But its licensees have undermined the agency. Millions of dollars that are supposed to go into NEPZA’a coffee are going into private pockets. That is why we are trying to find out if there is the need to review existing laws because the Parliament will not allow the country to continue to bleed. MTN gave us certificate of acceptance worth N2.6 trillion and claimed to be the highest tax payers in the country. We are asking them to provide us evidence of how they got those certificates. That is where we are right now. Other telecoms are running away. But the law will catch up with them. We are aware that they have spent so much on their investment and so don’t want to be party to dragging their names in the mud. But they must come before parliament to defend the capital allowances they have collected”.

Speaking on the operations of the Oil and Gas Free Zone Authority, the lawmaker said some licensees claimed to have made payment which they cannot see.

“For example, Agip claimed  to have paid millions of dollars to you. I checked the records of your submission and cannot find even one million dollars traceable to a single company. They also filed for capital allowance with FIRS and FIRS has given effect to that without the certificate of acceptance issued by the Ministry of Industry. We have asked for evidence of exception and there is none. We have also asked for a list if the assets they imported that qualified and inspected which the FIRS acted on,” Oke added