Reps summon 9Mobile, Globacom over tax , creative industry remittances

For allegedly failing to pay their statutory taxes and the
required percentages of their profits to federal government, House
of Representatives on Thursday summoned the Managing Directors of
9mobile, Etisalat Nigeria and Globacom Nigeria to appear before
it.

Chairman, House of Representatives ad hoc committee
investigating the operations of telecommunications service
providers, equipment and vendors, Hon. Ahmed Abu conveyed the
message at a hearing at the National Assembly Complex.

The chairman who were specific on the Managing Directors of
9mobile, Boye Olusanya and that of Etisalat Nigeria, Hakeem Bello
-Osagie said that the summons became necessary following the
failure of the companies to honour repeated invitations sent to
them.

He said that the committee might be compelled to issue bench
warrants against the companies should they continue to turn down
invitations from the federal lawmakers.

He said: “This is not about me. It’s about the House of
Representatives, and we’re representing Nigerians. A situation
where invitations will be issued to telecommunications companies
over issues that affect Nigerians and they fall to appear before
us, is rather unfortunate.

“What we are saying is that if things are done right, the
creative industry, for instance, can generate so much revenues for
the players in it and the government.”

The Chairman also decried poor remittances from the National
Lottery Trust Fund to the federal government coffers, saying that
with the existing laws governing the lottery activities in the
country, the Funds ought to have made appreciable impacts.

But making his presentation, the Executive Secretary of the
Fund, Engr. Habu Gumel said that the Fund had attracted N530m in
the last nine years for the government from the companies doing
business in the country.

He however said the poor remittances, which represented value
for lottery money, was on account of “issue of under-declaration of
remittances by operations, lack of credible database to ascertain
the actual and precise amount due to government as returns for good
causes”.

In his submission, the representative of National Lottery
Regulatory Commission (NLRC), Okechukwu Odunna also corroborated
the position of the Lottery Funds Executive Secretary, saying that
the mechanisms for tracking businesses of the telecommunications
firms were to be measured by the government.

Ruling on the issues, the Chairman of the Committee said that
the panel was not working at cross purposes with the standing
committee of the House responsible for oversighting the
companies.

He said that the House set up the panel due to the sensitivity
of the matters to be probed.

For allegedly failing to pay their statutory taxes and the
required percentages of their profits to federal government, House
of Representatives on Thursday summoned the Managing Directors of
9mobile, Etisalat Nigeria and Globacom Nigeria to appear before
it.

Chairman, House of Representatives ad hoc committee
investigating the operations of telecommunications service
providers, equipment and vendors, Hon. Ahmed Abu conveyed the
message at a hearing at the National Assembly Complex.

The chairman who were specific on the Managing Directors of
9mobile, Boye Olusanya and that of Etisalat Nigeria, Hakeem Bello
-Osagie said that the summons became necessary following the
failure of the companies to honour repeated invitations sent to
them.

He said that the committee might be compelled to issue bench
warrants against the companies should they continue to turn down
invitations from the federal lawmakers.

He said: “This is not about me. It’s about the House of
Representatives, and we’re representing Nigerians. A situation
where invitations will be issued to telecommunications companies
over issues that affect Nigerians and they fall to appear before
us, is rather unfortunate.

“What we are saying is that if things are done right, the
creative industry, for instance, can generate so much revenues for
the players in it and the government.”

The Chairman also decried poor remittances from the National
Lottery Trust Fund to the federal government coffers, saying that
with the existing laws governing the lottery activities in the
country, the Funds ought to have made appreciable impacts.

But making his presentation, the Executive Secretary of the
Fund, Engr. Habu Gumel said that the Fund had attracted N530m in
the last nine years for the government from the companies doing
business in the country.

He however said the poor remittances, which represented value
for lottery money, was on account of “issue of under-declaration of
remittances by operations, lack of credible database to ascertain
the actual and precise amount due to government as returns for good
causes”.

In his submission, the representative of National Lottery
Regulatory Commission (NLRC), Okechukwu Odunna also corroborated
the position of the Lottery Funds Executive Secretary, saying that
the mechanisms for tracking businesses of the telecommunications
firms were to be measured by the government.

Ruling on the issues, the Chairman of the Committee said that
the panel was not working at cross purposes with the standing
committee of the House responsible for oversighting the
companies.

He said that the House set up the panel due to the sensitivity
of the matters to be probed.