Business and Economy
WEMA Bank Swims in IGR Controversy as Forensic Auditor Petitions EFCC
By NGIJ team of Oluwasegun Abifarin and Olawale Abideen
Widely reputed as the longest surviving and most resilient indigenous bank in Nigeria, Wema Bank Plc, according to its corporate philosophy, “has over the years, diligently offered a fully-fledged range of value-adding banking and financial advisory services to the Nigerian public.
But recent development is threatening the bank’s ambition and reputation “to give every customer a delightful and memorable service experience.”
According to the document received by the Nigerian Guild of Investigative Journalists, NGIJ, Niger State governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani-Bello in a letter dated 23/07/2015 from the office of the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Malam Zakari Abubakar appointed Ori Adeyemo, a Lagos based forensic expert as consultants to investigate deductions of unremitted 10% Withholding Tax on Credit Interest by some banks operating in the state.
However, an instruction was passed by the then Finance Ministry Permanent Secretary to its supervised Niger State Board of Internal Revenue of Adeyemo’s full appointments to cover all the banks in Niger State.
At the end of the forensic investigation, the total refundable by the Wema Bank stood at N192, 963 million out of the N4.6 billion due to the state by 12 banks and one Micro Finance institution.
In his petition to the EFCC, obtained by the NIGJ team. Adeyemo alleged he was reliably informed that the Board had given clean bill of health and letters of non-indebtedness to the said compromised concerned banks.
He added that by a letter dated 29/01/2019, Wema Bank Plc. also sent in a reply to the Board’s earlier N192, 963,839.30 Best-of-Judgement (BOJ) demand letter as initiated by us.
The consultant also alleged that the Board “went ahead to try and sell-out this assessment to persons unknown so far who relied on our reports in lowering the assessment to sum for reasons unknown after unbridled reports mutilation and suspected behind-the-scene negotiations all in a bid to deprive the Niger State Government of its hard-earned Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).”
He added that the “total commissions and/or dues fraudulently lost thereto and/or withheld by the Niger State Board of Internal Revenue is N910,422,825.32, which “we hereby request that the EFCC use its wide-ranging investigative powers to help recover for us.”
The petitioner also included a compact disk (CD) detailing all completed jobs in intellectual properties as so far executed by the consultant for the Niger State Government enabling it to demand for an additional but unpaid N732,143,601.52 commission sum.
“Consequently, in the light of the mutual agreement that have with the Niger State Government, we are entitled to 15% of the established N1,131,931,579.67 liability assessment per completed assignments for N178,279,223.80 sum, which we hereby demand that EFCC should assist us to collect from the Niger State Board of Internal Revenue and its collaborators”, Adeyemo said.
Meanwhile, Wema Bank’s Corporate Communication Manager, Mrs. Funmi Falola, debunked the allegations, saying that from their investigation, there is no such liability on the neck of the bank anywhere.
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- Prince Abdulrahman Obaje is a Media, Information and Computer Technology Consultant. A quintessential Journalist, online marketer, social media strategist, Mathematician and Computer Scientist is based in Abuja, Nigeria. He is the Founder and the Publisher of The Informavores!. You can reach me on +234 805 939 5252 or send i-witness report directly to me on news@informavores.com.ng.
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Business and Economy
Kogi Govt Opens Bids for Livestock Market Rehabilitation Project
From Joseph Amedu, Lokoja
The Kogi State Government has embarked on a major initiative to rehabilitate nine livestock markets across the three senatorial districts of the state.
The bid opening ceremony for the project took place over the weekend, at Kogi State Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support (Kogi L-PRES) Project office in Lokoja.
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The Project Coordinator, Mr Abdulkabir Onoruoyiza Otaru, highlighted the importance of the initiative and assured of a transparent process.
Otaru described the market rehabilitation project as a new dawn in Kogi State’s livestock value chain, and commended Gov. Ahmed Ododo for fully supporting the project.
He revealed that the World Bank had approved the project, with nine livestock markets to be rehabilitated in the first phase across the state’s nine Federal Constituencies.
“We’ve secured World Bank approval for the rehabilitation of one livestock market in each of Kogi State’s nine Federal Constituencies.
“We’ve engaged stakeholders to ensure a smooth bidding process and successful project execution.
“I urge the winning contractor to deliver high-quality work within the timeframe.
“Governor Ahmed Ododo’s support for L-PRES has been instrumental in improving livestock farmers’ livelihoods and the state’s economy,” Otaru said.
He emphasised that the rehabilitation of the nine livestock markets is expected to enhance livestock productivity and value chain in the state, improving the livelihoods of farmers and the economy,” Otaru said.
The Commissioner for Livestock Development, Dr Olufemi Bolarin, said the rehabilitation project aims to enhance the livestock sector, crucial to the state’s economy and food security.
“The modernisation of the markets will improve trading conditions, boost the livelihoods of farmers and traders, and create hygienic and efficient market spaces that meet international standards,” Bolarin said.
Represented by the Ministry’s Director of Livestock, Mr Ali Peter, the commissioner emphasised the need for a transparent and competitive bidding process.
The commissioner urged participants to adhere strictly to the guidelines.
The ministry’s Permanent Secretary,, Dr Abdulsalam Hadi, commended the governor for his commitment to transforming livestock development in the state.
He expressed confidence that the project would be a success, contributing significantly to the growth of the state.
The Kogi L-PRES Procurement Officer, Mr Adeolu Oshadare, disclosed that five companies submitted bidding documents with prices ranging from N1.22 billion to N2.12 billion.
According to him, the project bid was advertised on September 12, 2025, and five companies submitted bids by October 10, 2025.
According to him, the bid prices are: Nuelika Infinity Ltd (N1.54 billion), Izyprecs Ltd (N1.55 billion), Emmanuel-NIK and Gold Ltd (N1.47 billion), RSA Global Investment Ltd (N1.22 billion), and Numora Integrated Ltd (N2.12 billion).
Adeolu noted that the next stage would be the evaluation of bids by the evaluation committee within the next week.
In his remarks, Prof Usman Omeiza, Chairman of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply, Kogi State Branch, commended the Kogi State Livestock Ministry, L-PRES, and other stakeholders for ensuring a seamless and transparent bidding process.
He urged them to maintain this transparency throughout the project.
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Business and Economy
KGIRS Gives Rebates, Urges Land Owners towards Voluntary Payment
From Joseph Amedu, Lokoja
The Kogi State Internal Revenue Service (KGIRS) has charged property owners who have received Land Use Charge Demand Notice to pay in order to fulfil their obligation to the State.
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Executive Chairman of KGIRS, Alhaji Sule Salihu Enehe made the call in a chat with Our Reporter on the significance of Land Use Charge and early payment of the tax.
He said the Land Use Charge introduced by the government was aimed at eliminating the burden of multiple taxation, provision of a more streamlined and efficient system.
Alhaji Enehe urged property owners that have receivethem enjoy Use Charge (LUC) Demand Notice to pay as soon as possible to enable them enjoy early payment incentives.
“Payment within 5 days of receipt of Demand Notice attracts 15% discount while payment within 15 days of receipt of demand notice has 10% discount and payment within 25 days of receipt of Demand Notice also has 5% discount to encourage prompt payment of the LUC.
“Payment can be made in all bank branches across the State as well as Kogi State Revenue POS Agents” he stated.
He assured that government would continue to use the revenue for infrastructure development, maintenance of the environment, and provision of adequate security for the State.
While re-emphasising the significance of the tax, the Executive Chairman, KGIRS, said “The Land Use Charge offers several benefits, including; Accurate assessment of property values for taxation purposes, Identification and registration of property in the State, Allocation of land for government projects and social amenities, Employment opportunities for enumerators from the District, and Creation of a reliable database on the property makeup of the State to inform decision-making.
“The tax obligation section of the Land Use Charge focuses on property used for lease and commercial purposes, but there are exemptions, and they include; Property owned and occupied by religious bodies for public worship or education, Public cemeteries and burial grounds,
“Others are non-profit educational institutions and public libraries, palaces of recognised traditional rulers, community property like town-halls used for community meetings, and Property owned and occupied by pensioners” Alhaji Enehe stated.
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Business and Economy
Kogi Revenue Generation Capacity Hits N3 billion Monthly
From Joseph Amedu, Lokoja
The Executive Chairman of the Kogi State Revenue Service (KGIRS), Sule Salihu Enehe has said that the revenue generation capacity of the state under his leadership has increased to N3 billion Monthly.
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The Executive Chairman disclosed this while giving account of his leadership since he came on board during the Stewardship Forum organised by the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Kogi State Council on Thursday.
Enehe said that him and his management team have lived up to expectation in ensuring effective tax administration and service delivery.
He noted that the N3 billion monthly revenue generation currently in place supercede the proposed taxation income budget for the half year.
“We will ensure that the revenue figure attained does not drop but continue to go higher. KGIRS under my administration has been able to judiciously utilised its 10% IGR in payment of staff salaries and running its day to day operations
“We have also been able to change the narrative through capacity building and care for staff welfare as well as promotion of staff and adherent to seniority in hierarchy to boost their moral for higher productivity
“Further more, we have been able to introduce Central Billing System and Automated Taxation to reduce leakages in revenue collection”
He expressed the readiness of KGIRS to continue to partner Journalists in publicising its activities
He also expressed the hope that the new Nigeria Revenue Tax Act which will become operational in January next year would benefit Kogi State tremendously.
“The new law harmonizes all tax acts into single document to reduce double taxation” Enehe explained.
He appealed to the people of Kogi State to embrace prompt payment of their taxes to enjoy more dividends of democracy and development of the state at large.
“However, the greatest challenges of KGIRS have been that of obstacles in enforcement of taxation laws and reluctant on the part of tax payers to live up to their responsibility in tax payment”
Earlier, the Chairman of the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists NUJ, Kogi State Council, Segun Salami had informed the Executive Chairman and his management team that the Stewardship Forum was put in place to enable the elected and appointed leaders showcase their achievements and challenges to justify people’s mandate in service delivery.
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