General
OYBIR Hands Over Two Fake Tax Collectors to Police
By Dipo Olowookere
Chairman of the Oyo State Board of Internal Revenue (OYBIR) has ordered officers of the board to hand over two members of a fake tax collection syndicate apprehended last Friday in Ibadan to police for investigation.
The two suspects were caught last week while carrying out their illegal operation around Agbarigo, Onireke Avenue, Ibadan, in the branded jacket of the Board.
According to the identity cards caught on the suspects, the duo was tagged ‘revenue collector’ with one Joint Tax Board (JTB) consultant.
The suspects were nabbed by the officials of the state board of internal revenue who were on a tax awareness, sensitization and collection tour of markets on payment of tax by traders and operators in the informal sector in the state.
The OYBIR team was led by the Chairman of the Board, Mr Bicci Alli, the Director of Finance and Administration, Mr Akinwale Akinade, top officials of the Board and other revenue collectors who were on a tour of the Bodija, Apata and Idi-Iroko markets in the capital city.
The suspects; Friday Emmanuel and Oyedeji Oyekunle, in an interview with journalists, disclosed that they are on an appointment with a staff in one of the local government council in Ibadan who pays them on a 50-50 remuneration basis of whatever amount they generate per day.
They also professed their innocence that they were not on an illegal operation but on appointment as consultants to the board, as reflected in one of the suspect’s identity card. The identity card which bears the logo, name and image of the board further drew the attention of the Chairman, Oyo State board of internal revenue, Mr Bicci Alli to investigate the matter the more.
To prove their innocence, the suspects were told to make phone call to their employer, whose name was simply given as ‘Mr Bayo’ who they claimed works at an undisclosed local government in Ibadan, but the efforts were unsuccessful as the said Mr Bayo initially failed to pick the calls but later told the suspect to come to the Ibadan North East LG.
However, other attempts to call the said Mr. Bayo for a confirmation of his location later saw his phone line not connecting as it was said to have been switched off. the suspects also said they had other tax collectors who operate in other parts of the city but that the two of them only knew each other as members of a team.
The suspects said, “We were employed around March/April 2018 to collect consolidated tax on behalf of the state by one Mr Bayo who we have been trying to put calls through to his line. Though we were not given any letter of appointment to that effect but we were told that we will get a letter from the Commissioner of Police. Up till now, we are yet to receive the letter.”
On remuneration and how they operate, they said “We are on 50-50 agreement. That means we take 50 per cent of whatever amount we collect. The receipt is N5,000 but it’s negotiable. In case we’re unable to make up to that amount, we have to ensure that we deposit the N2,500 percentage per receipt of the receipt sold.”
Items found in their possession include copies receipts bearing logo and name of the Oyo State Board of Internal Revenue, copies of consolidated certificates for trucks, buses, pickups, cars, operational permit clearance certificate, road taxes certificates, driver and conductor’s badges, road user’s permit, stage carriage revenue with JTB packet of used and unused receipts, among others.
While reacting to the situation, OYBIR Chairman, Mr Bicci Alli, said neither the state government nor the OYBIR had engaged any contractors, agents or consultant to collect revenue on its behalf by the roadside.
He emphasised that the government did not send any agent to collect its revenue in whatever format, urging the people not to patronise such an agent or make any payment to them. He added that all roadside tax collection is illegal and as such must not be patronised.
Mr Alli urged the people of the state to desist from making any financial payment to any individual in the name of the state government, pointing out that revenue accruable to the state government are to be paid to designated banks.
He, however, added that only trained revenue collectors for the informal are operating with a POS machine to collect revenue while all others for the formal and organised sectors are made to the designated banks.
By Dipo Olowookere
A $15 million debt facility has been obtained by Watt Renewable Corporation from the AfriGreen Debt Impact Fund to finance hybrid solar power plants to be built and operated by the former, especially in Nigeria.
WATT intends to use the projects to serve commercial and industrial clients in Nigeria, particularly in the telecommunication and financial services sectors.
By integrating solar hybrid solutions, the firm aims to significantly reduce diesel consumption and CO2 emissions, enabling its clients to achieve substantial energy cost savings while promoting environmental sustainability.
As a pioneer in renewable energy solutions, WATT continues to drive innovation in Nigeria’s energy sector.
The company’s robust roll-out plan includes deploying hundreds of hybrid solar power sites nationwide to meet the growing energy demands of commercial & industrial clients.
This strategic expansion aligns with WATT’s vision to revolutionize energy access across Africa, enabling sustainable development and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The funds from AfriGreen provide the critical capital needed to accelerate WATT’s ambitious projects, strengthening its market position and empowering businesses with reliable and affordable energy solutions.
Business Post gathered that to mitigate the currency risk for WATT in the event of devaluation of the Nigerian Naira, AfriGreen is offering a local currency facility that matches the payment structure of the power purchase agreements.
“We are thrilled to partner with AFRIGREEN on this transformative journey to expand reliable and sustainable energy solutions across Africa.
“With this support, it enables us to accelerate our shared mission of providing hybrid solar power to businesses, reducing carbon emissions, and supporting economic growth while enhancing energy security for our clients,” the Managing Director of WATT, Mr Oluwole Eweje, said.
“We are delighted to support WATT in rolling out hundreds of hybrid sites across the country.
“This represents another key transaction for AFRIGREEN in Nigeria. The combination of high energy prices, good solar irradiation, and strong demand from industrial and commercial energy users makes this market particularly attractive for companies like WATT.
“By leveraging these favourable market conditions alongside WATT’s exceptional operational performance and a well-structured financing solution, we are setting the stage for a strong and lasting business partnership,” the Managing Director of AfriGreen, Mr Alexandre Gilles, stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has denied issuing a directive that gas supply to power generating companies (GenCos) be halted.
In a statement on Wednesday, the authority also denied instructing wholesale gas suppliers to stop further supply of gas to companies due to failure in payment obligations.
The NMDPRA described reports stating that it has directed the stoppage of gas supply to GenCos over N2 trillion debt as “false and completely unfounded”.
“It has absolutely no bearing on the information shared at a recent stakeholders’ engagement held in Lagos between the Authority, the OPTS, IPPG and other stakeholders in the oil and gas industry,” the NMDPRA said.
“The purpose of the engagement was to sensitise stakeholders on the requirements, opportunities and benefits associated with the implementation of the wholesale supply license as provided by sections 142 and 197 of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.
“It was a follow-up to an earlier stakeholder engagement held at the NMDPRA corporate headquarters in Abuja on November 27, 2024.
“The Authority wishes to reassure all our stakeholders and indeed the general public that at no time was the false statement made at that event and anywhere else, and are advised to completely disregard the publication as every effort is being made to ensure that the supply and distribution of natural gas and petroleum products to end users is seamless and unabated as we head into the festive season and indeed all through the coming year 2025.”
Recall that Nigeria’s national grid experienced another collapse on Wednesday, the 11th time in 2024 as Gencos couldn’t generate enough power, compounding issues facing the Nigerian power sector.
This was the first time in over a month as the last time the nation witnessed a nationwide shutdown in electricity supply was on November 7, 2024.
Before then, the country was experiencing an incessant collapse of the grid, which prompted the federal government to set up a team to address the issue.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Nigeria is currently experience a cut in power supply after the national grid collapsed for the 11th time in 2024.
This is the first time in over a month as the last time the nation witnessed a nationwide shut down in electricity supply was on November 7, 2024.
Before then, the country was experiencing an incessant collapse of the grid, which prompted the federal government to set up a team to address the issue.
However, just when Nigerians were thinking they will not witnessed another national grid collapse in the year, it issue reared its ugly head again.
On Wednesday afternoon, most of the energy distribution companies suffered power outage, prompting them to inform their customers of the situation.
One of the DisCos, Ikeja Electric Plc, in a message to electricity consumers under its franchise area, said, “Please be informed that we experienced a system outage today, December 11, 2024, at about 13:32 hours affecting supply within our network.
“Restoration of supply is ongoing in collaboration with our critical stakeholders. Kindly bear with us.”
Recall that on Tuesday, in a report, Google listed national grid as one of the top trending searches by Nigerians this year.
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