For the second time in about three months, the Rivers State Internal Revenue Service on Tuesday blocked the main entrance to the corporate headquarters of the Niger Delta Development Commission in Port Harcourt over alleged unpaid taxes.
The RIRS had said on April 26, 2018 when the premises of the commission was first barricaded that the agency was indebted to the state government to the tune of ₦600m in unpaid taxes since 2014.
The agency on Tuesday repeated the act, saying that it decided to seal the gates of the NDDC after approaching the court for an exparte order to carry out the action.
Not satisfied with the action of the RIRS, the Managing Director of the NDDC, Mr Nsima Ekere, who spoke through his Special Assistant on Media, Chijioke Amu-Nnadi, stated that the commission was surprised over the picketing of its premises.
Explaining that the action of the RIRS disrupted activities at the NDDC headquarters in Port Harcourt, Ekere pointed out that the officials of the commission were surprised over the action of the revenue agency because the first tranche of what was being owed had been paid.
He stated, “About two weeks ago, the commission met with the tax enforcement team and started negotiations to resolve all outstanding issues. We understand that there is a court order. But it is important for us to state that the commission, as a responsible corporate organisation, had begun to attend to all obligations as agreed.
“Last week, the commission paid the first tranche. They will receive the next tranche this week. This is a sign of goodwill and commitment on the side of the commission to meet these obligations.”
The NDDC MD described the blocking of the premises of the interventionist agency as an unnecessary embarrassment, which did not match the commission’s goodwill.
“It is very surprising that even though we have begun paying these arrears dating back to 2013, which the current board inherited, we still have to deal with this little impasse. And mind you, over the past two years, the current board has paid all the commission’s tax obligations as at when due,” he added.
The RIRS Director, Mr Manson Endeboh, who was said to have led the enforcement team, said that the tax agency sealed the gates of the NDDC headquarters for allegedly owing the Rivers State Government withholding tax.
Also, a top official of the RIRS told our correspondent that it was wrong for the NDDC to ignore the payment of withholding tax since 2014, saying, “Why would they be indebted to the Rivers State Government for this long?
“The money we are talking about is not PAYE; the money the NDDC has failed to remit to the state government is withholding tax. It is not fair for any organisation to owe for that long.”