We Didn’t Budget N2.8bn For Uniforms – FIRS

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has denied budgeting N2.8 billion for uniforms and N550m for meals in the 2021 Appropriation Budget.

A statement by the Executive Chairman of FIRS, Muhammad Nami, said a publication by a national newspaper was “utterly misleading.”

The statement by the Special Assistant on Media & Communication, Johannes Oluwatobi Wojuola, stated that the report misrepresented the facts of the budget proposal.

Wojuola said: “Its claim that “the total budget of the FIRS stands at N228 billion is blatantly not true. Again, what the newspaper referred to as Uniform is the Corporate Outfit (Dressing Allowance) enjoyed by all the staff. Similarly, the sum of N17.8 billion being bandied by the newspaper as an estimate for miscellaneous expenses is grossly false.”

“To be sure, the correct figure is N11.36 billion which represents the estimate for key administrative expenses for the whole year that the service proposed to the National Assembly being an amount that would be incurred when approved, in respect of its over 500 operating offices and functions as well as for its 11,300 workforces.”

Nami clarified that the estimated expenses are for medical expenses for over 11,300 staff, publicity, adverts & taxpayers education, welfare packages & festivity allowance to staff, corporate outfit grant (dressing allowance to staff), honorarium & sitting allowance for staff/stakeholders, sporting activities, and postages & courier services.

“The public is, therefore, to note that the amount budgeted for the above-listed items represents merely 5.26% of the total budget estimate for the year, 2022.”

He added that as a revenue-generating agency, it remains strongly committed to its mandate of mobilizing revenue for the three tiers of government.