*Governor Mohammed Umar Bago
The Governor of Niger state Hon. Mohammed Umar Bago has approved the termination of appointments of all Consultants, Service Providers and as well, Contractors handling the state’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).
Also, all the revenue collectors, enforcement agencies currently engaged directly or indirectly by the Niger State Board of Internal Revenue Service, Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) have been relieved of their appointments.
Our findings reveal that the sacking of all the Contractors and Consultants managing the state’s IGR may not be unconnected with series of financial misappropriation scandal rocking the agencies.
The scandal which affected mostly the top echelon of the Niger State Board of Internal Revenue, it was gathered hinged on lack of proper accountability, the sharing formula in percentage between the Consultants and the state government.
However, the order terminating the appointments of the revenue generating firms by Governor Bago, according to a statement from the office of the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Alhaji Abubakar Usman is with immediate effect.
The statement signed by, Lawal Tanko (Information Officer), office of the SSG said the state government’s decision to terminate the contract is to restructure the agency with a view to making it more responsive to immediate and future financial needs of the state.
Citing want of accountability against the handlers, the state government according to the statement wants to reorganize the agency in order improve on the efficiency and transparency in revenue collection processes at the state and Local Government Areas.
The measure is also part of the broader efforts by the Umar Bago led administration to ensure a more organized and accountable revenue generation system that will foster sustainable economic growth and development.
Consequently, the statement is directing all those affected to return all government properties including official vehicles and other relevant documents in their possession to the Permanent Secretary or the most senior Directors in their respective organizations.
