Over 30 Nigerian Government Agencies Caught in N14.33 Billion Tax Fraud

The Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation (OAuGF) has exposed significant tax irregularities amounting to N14.33 billion across more than 30 Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) of the Nigerian government......Read The Full Article>>.....Read The Full Article>>

According to Naija247news, the findings, detailed in the Auditor-General’s Annual Report on Non-Compliance and Internal Control Weaknesses, highlight serious lapses in tax deductions, remittances, and compliance with financial regulations between 2020 and 2021, a period under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

The report revealed that six MDAs were responsible for N129.34 million in under-deduction of taxes. Naija247news understands that Paragraphs 234 and 235 of the Financial Regulations (2009) mandate accounting officers to ensure that all applicable taxes, such as Value Added Tax and Withholding Tax, are deducted and remitted promptly to the Federal Inland Revenue Service. However, the audit report observed widespread breaches of these provisions.

The Federal Road Safety Corps, Abuja, emerged as the highest offender, with an under-deduction of N90.57 million, while the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Abuja, recorded the smallest shortfall of N623,162.80.

Other implicated agencies include the Federal Polytechnic Bida, Niger State; Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company Plc, Abuja; National Water Resources Institute, Kaduna; and the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria.

A more concerning irregularity was the non-deduction of taxes, totaling N2.64 billion across 21 MDAs. The report indicated that these agencies failed to deduct taxes from payments made to contractors and other beneficiaries, violating established financial regulations.

The Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company Plc, Abuja, led the defaulting agencies in this category with a discrepancy of N1.01 billion, while the Federal Medical Centre, Ebute Meta, was the least offender, with an amount of N617,427.66.