By Charles Ebi
Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service ,FIRS, Mr Zacch Adedeji, has met with President Bola Tinubu to resolve the closure of the agency’s office in Abuja by the Federal Capital Territory Administration ,FCTA, over an alleged ground rent default.
Mr Adedeji has since gone to the presidential Villa to meet with President Tinubu to seek a quick resolution to the matter after it raised worries about friction between the federal agency and the sub-national authority.
On Monday, the FCTA had accused the FIRS of owing 25 years of unpaid ground rent on two of its properties located at No. 12 and No. 14 Sokode Crescent, Wuse Zone 5, Abuja. Others like Access Bank and TotalEnergies petrol station were also sealed.
The service has strongly condemned what it described as an unwarranted and embarrassing invasion of its offices in Abuja on Monday.
During a press conference held at the FIRS headquarters in Abuja, senior officials of the agency, including the Director of Facility Management, Mr Tyofa Abeghe; Special Adviser on Infrastructure, Mr Kunle Ogidi; and the Special Adviser on Media and Communication, Mr Dare Adekanmbi, decried the action by FCTA officials and demanded a public apology.
“The allegation that we owe ground rent is completely false”, said Mr Abeghe said, “We received a demand notice dated September 2023 from the Abuja Geographic Information System ,AGIS, and we responded appropriately. The amount of N2,364,003.26 was paid within three months of receiving that notice”.
Mr Abeghe further explained that after the payment was made, the agency became concerned that no official receipt or confirmation had been issued.
He claimed that to address the issue, he wrote a follow-up letter dated February 19, 2024, to AGIS requesting confirmation of the payment and the issuance of a treasury receipt. The letter, he said, was acknowledged by AGIS but was never acted upon.
“Despite our due diligence, our offices were invaded as if we were lawbreakers”, Mr Abeghe said, “This is not only embarrassing but entirely unjustified”.
On his part, the Mr Ogidi described the incident as “administrative rascality”, and criticized the FCTA for acting without verifying records.
“If they had taken the time to review the records, they would have seen that the rent had been settled,” Mr Ogidi said, adding that “This is not how two government agencies should relate”.
He emphasized that the FIRS is a responsible and law-abiding institution that would never default on statutory obligations such as ground rent.
“For the record”, Mr Ogidi continued, “FIRS does not owe FCTA ground rent on any of its properties within the Federal Capital Territory including the two offices that were unjustly sealed”.
Providing further clarity, Mr Adekanmbi, expressed disbelief over the logic behind the FCTA’s claim.
“FIRS has about seven offices on Sokode Crescent alone. Why would we pay ground rent on five and deliberately refuse to pay on two?” he asked. “Does that make any logical or administrative sense?”
Mr Adekanmbi stressed that such actions could damage inter-agency trust and disrupt the operations of public institutions.
“The sealing of our offices inconvenienced not just our staff, but also taxpayers and stakeholders who depend on FIRS services. It was unnecessary and completely avoidable”, he said.
