Saratu Umar was fired as the executive secretary of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) on the suspicion that she leaked information on the granting of questionable tax waivers estimated to be worth $20 billion, TheCable can report.

Umar, who was appointed only last year, was sacked on Monday by President Goodluck Jonathan exactly eight days after a nine-month-old letter on the controversial waivers was leaked to the media — and six days after the NIPC staff union petitioned the president to ask for her removal.

No reason was given for her sack.

Nigeria is believed to have lost at least $20 billion to tax holidays granted to undeserving companies between 2010 and 2014, mostly on the recommendation of NIPC.

But this was before Umar became its chief executive and embarked on a tax holiday reform for which she was recently commended by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMFAC).

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the finance minister, had written to Umar in August 2014 to complain about the indiscriminate granting of waivers.

The letter, which was published in THISDAY on May 10, 2015, alleged that the federal government lost huge revenue to questionable tax holidays granted companies by NIPC.

TheCable learnt that Umar was accused of leaking Okonjo-Iweala’s letter to the media in order to embarrass Jonathan and curry the favour of President-elect Muhammadu Buhari.

The prolonged media war against Umar by NIPC senior staff was believed to have been instigated “from outside” in order to prepare grounds for the removal of the woman

The biggest beneficiaries of the waivers are thought to be oil companies linked to top government officials.

‘Irresponsibility and immaturity’

After the leak of Okonjo-Iweala’s letter, NIPC staff petitioned Jonathan, asking for Umar’s removal.

“It appears the current Executive Secretary has taken the staff agitation for her removal to a desperate point of dragging the outgoing administration of President Goodluck Jonathan to the mud by whipping up sentiments in the media at this critical time when the Nation is undergoing transition. The leakage of the letter by the Minister of Finance sent directly to the Executive Secretary of NIPC on August 12, 2014 and which has been in her custody, smacks of an act of irresponsibility and immaturity,”  Ahmad Ghondi, chairman of NIPC union, wrote in the petition.

Jonathan promptly fired Umar in a move reminiscent of the removal of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as central bank governor in February 2014 after his letter on “missing” oil money leaked.

Umar had been having a running battle with the senior staff of NIPC who went public with their opposition to her.

At a stage, they declared that 98% of the staff were against her “dictatorial” style of leadership and “incompetence”.

NIPC is saddled with promoting investment opportunities in Nigeria, and part of the incentives for investors is tax holiday for which the commission has to issue “pioneer status” certificates.

However, the waivers are to be applied within certain criteria, such as a company investing in a virgin area that needs incentives.

Although Okonjo-Iweala did not give the actual figures of revenue lost through the tax holidays, she said while oil companies were supposed to be taxed 65 per cent under the Petroleum Profit Tax Act, certain officials of NIPC listed such companies under the Industrial Development (Tax Relief) Act, thereby making them qualify for pioneer status.

She said the tax holidays were granted to companies “whose products do not meet the requirements of the list of industries or products specified in the schedule to the Act”.

Unfair advantage

The officials of NIPC further breached the rule by backdating the pioneer certificates, forcing the federal government to refund taxes that had already been paid into its coffers by these companies, she said.


A beneficiary of this, according to Okonjo-Iweala, is Seplat, an operator of one of the fields belonging to NNPC.

“While SDPC (Shell) disposed of its interest to Seplat, NNPC disposed of its interest to NPDC (Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, being the exploration arm of NNPC). Seplat, thereafter, was granted a tax holiday whereas NPDC continued to pay taxes from the operation of the same field. This confers an unfair advantage on Seplat,” she wrote.

As many as 15 oil companies are believed to have benefit from the tax holidays despite not being eligible but for the connivance of NIPC officials.

The union staged a protest that led to the paralysis of activities at the headquarters of the agency in Abuja on April 22.

During the protest, its members carried placards with inscriptions such as: ‘NIPC without management/Council’, ‘Saratu Umar must go today’, ‘Self-styled one-man management’, ‘No imprest to zonal office for eight months’.

But Umar denied the allegations, saying some directors of the agency who were indicted for misappropriating NIPC’s funds were behind the protest.

Chairman of RMFAC, Elias Mbam, recently commended Umar for “taking bold steps” that had sanitised the granting of the pioneer status incentives which had hitherto witnessed challenges in its administration that led to huge revenue loss to the federation.

Mbam said import duty waivers, concessions and exemptions “have direct bearing on the quantum of revenue accruals into the Federation Account which gets depleted and consequently affects the share of every tier of government”.

http://www.thecable.ng/exclusive-nipc-boss-fired-embarrassing-jonathan-20bn-tax-waivers

This Never-do-well of a Woman and Jonathan were really on a mission to bankrupt Nigeria!

Can Someone now explain to me how Jonathan, Iweala, Stealer Odua and Dizieani Won't end up as prison mates?

Meanwhile, Jonathan has exactly 9 days left in office. From the perspective of activities at our vault, it’s like 12 days of Christmas out there!

All these are just postulations...No fuccking $20 billion is missing.

Saratu Umar was removed as a result of gross incompetence and high handedness. Simple!

**tears report and flings it into the lagoon**

She was corrupt and her workers asked for her to be fired and she was fired.Full stop

Give me one reason why Jonathan shouldnt be jailed.

themilanway:
Give me one reason why Jonathan shouldnt be jailed.

Because the Daura President won't dare it!.

The truth has finally come out why the woman was sacked.

Well,29th is already by the corner. Jonathan,Allison Madueke and Okonjo Iweala will not escape being probed.

They must be PERSECUTED!!



Lalasticlala

Saratu Umar was fired as the executive secretary of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) on the suspicion that she leaked information on the granting of questionable tax waivers estimated to be worth $20 billion, TheCable can report.

Only in Nigeria are government revenue created by newspaper reports. Why not $20T.

SeverusSnape:

Because the Daura President won't dare it.

What nit wits like you havent realised is that Jona will go to jail and nothing will happen.

He might still end up like a certain Laurent Gbagbo.

themilanway:



What nit wits like you havent realised is that Jona will go to jail and nothing will happen.

He might still end up like a certain Laurent Gbagbo.

Hehehehehehehehehehe
You make me laugh, Just know this, the dullard from Daura won't do more than a dead rat, He knows he can't do it.
Can the illiterate also jail that frogged eyed halitosis infected emperor of Lagos

themilanway:



What nit wits like you havent realised is that Jona will go to jail and nothing will happen.

He might still end up like a certain Laurent. Gbagbo.

you can say that again!

Propaganda as always... y'all should grt a life and pray to be like Gej and peg

Great

OBJ and RCCG of Adeboye were worse culprits on this =>

collins011:
ADEBOYE, REDEEM CHURCH LEADER IN N20 BILLION IMPORT WAIVER SCANDAL
05 Nov. 2007


The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye has been linked to a scandalous import duty waiver said to have cost Nigeria a whooping N20 Billion in revenue loss between 2006 and 2007.

A Fiscal Commission source in Abuja preferring anonymity told Pointblanknews.com during the week that pastor Adeboye, tapping into his well-known ties with former President Olusegun Obasanjo benefited from the shady import duty waiver in which Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Chief Mike Adenuga, Alhaji Saminu Turaki, Mr. Donald Duke and others were prime beneficiaries.

According to the impeccable source, the duty waiver granted Adeboye was said to have been used “dishonestly” by the church to import luxury Sport Utility Van, SUV (usually called Jeep in Nigeria), building materials and Digital Recording equipment some of which were said to belong to top members of the church both within Nigeria and abroad. In other words, the source surmised that Adeboye used his high level connections to “aid and abate” his church members to defraud the nation by not paying the requisite importation fees.

The source said that many of the RCCG’s faithful in Nigeria and abroad had celebrated the “unlawful act” as a “testimony to the goodness of the lord.” It was said that a Pastor Ghandi of the Jesus House, RCCG in Washington DC where the late first lady Mrs. Stella Obasanjo used to worship whenever she was in the United State, was a facilitator of the deal.

Many of the luxury cars that were said to have been imported through the deal were not meant for private use. They were said to have been sold at several car dealerships across the country. The source explained to pointblanknews.com that even if the items were not traded, it was unheard of that “people would import duty-free luxury items into any country.”

The official did not rule out the possibility of a thorough investigation of the deal which he said could make Adeboye to pay and possibly face charges.

A document made available to pointblanknews.com indicated that in 2006, RCCG got an import waiver of N9,831,109,309.00 through certificate no.,BO/REV/12235/S.2/T.133 to import construction materials; generators and vehicles. The value of the imports was N49,155,546,846.00.

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In 2007, another import waiver was granted. This time through a certificate number BO/R10260/V111/161, RCCG was granted rights to import building/construction materials with value put at N48,988,454,876.00 with a total waiver of N9,757,690.975.20. The two waivers total N19,588,800,284,20, while the bulk transactions amount to N98,144,347,130.20.

Also 300 luxury cars with value put at $6,923,000, 100 Jeeps (SUV) valued at $8,000,000, Video Equipment valued at $12,000,000.00, were all part of the shady import deals.

It would be recalled that the comptroller General of Nigerian Customs Services, Mr. Jacob Gyang Buba had been investigated by the independent Corrupt Practices Commission, ICPC in connection with an annual loss of N50 Billion in respect of the importation tariff waiver introduced by the Government of President Olusegun Obasanjo.

The spiritual depth of some practices of the RCCG has been subject of concern amongst growing conservative Christian worshippers. Adeboye is often criticized for being interested in quantity and not quality. He is said to have broken his church to model parishes were prosperity theology is often preached. The other class of followership is usually called Redeemed Classical. They are more mortified and often completely scriptural. Apart from Adeboye’s too cozy with the high and mighty elite, he was said to have given tacit blessing to ex-president Obasanjo’s third-term Presidential dream that was truncated with sudden humiliation.

Breeze blow, fowl nyash open.

I don tire for all dis stories.

GEJ loves corruption

[size=13pt]Coordinating Minister of corruption.[/size]

WOW: If only Doyin Okupe is still active, I would expected to hear from him.......

[size=13pt]APC propagandists seem to love '$20 billion' so much

1) Sanusu claimed $20 billion from NNPC was missing

2) Amaechi and progrethieves claimed $20 billion was missing from ECA

3) Now another #20 billion about NIPC[/size]

This reminds of R kelly's song

Season of sacking , season of sack
Season of losing every one must go,
We all watching come may 29,
Sacking City
o yea

themilanway:
Give me one reason why Jonathan shouldnt be jailed.

Kirikiri straight

Hmm! More stories will leak after May 29th...I can't wait. Anyway,if you have problem lasting long in bed, hit me up on BBM- 7C22F6EC.

kick his ass out of there jare, im don chop moni sote im no get respect again...make go dey drink garri jare

land

The coming weeks will be interesting, booking a seat.

SeverusSnape:
All these are just postulations...No fuccking $20 billion is missing.

Saratu Umar was removed as a result of gross incompetence and high handedness. Simple!

**tears report and flings it into the lagoon**

hundred percent true!!! I wonder where the media gets these lies from?

...and Jonathan will be telling the gullibles about the cabals in the Oil and Gas sector.