The Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) has denied being involved in the opening or operation of the controversial stamp duty fund said to have been domiciled with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Some media reports have alleged that a whopping N89.09 trillion stamp duty fund has gone missing and that “certain characters apparently formed a cartel with collaborators in the Nigerian Postal Service and were allegedly collecting and pocketing the money.”
Responding to the reports, the Postmaster General and CEO of NIPOST, Rt Hon. Sunday Adeyemi Adepoju, said in a press statement today that the management of the organisation has seen the media reports and denied being involved with the said bank account.
He said: “The stamp duty account was opened by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) under the Treasury Single Account (TSA) in consultation with the office of the Accountant General of the Federation in the name of NIPOST Stamp Duties Collection Account.
“This is an account which NIPOST had absolutely no opportunity, privilege or access to. It was NIPOST’s in name only.”
Adepoju added: “All deductions of stamp duties for and on behalf of NIPOST were carried out by the deposit money banks (DMBs) at source and directly remitted to the said dedicated NIPOST Stamp Duties Account with the Central Bank of Nigeria and the total aggregated collection stood at Fifty- nine billion, three hundred million naira (N59.3 billion) only as at May, 2020, when it was moved to the Federation Account following the controversy with Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) as to which agency of government has the right to collect stamp duty.
“For the record, NIPOST is not aware of any cartel allegedly collecting and pocketing money belonging to the government on stamp duty and no such monies as mentioned came into NIPOST’s account.”
