Group Managing Director of Energy Group of Companies, Dr Jimoh Ibrahim, has described the online report of Sahara Reporters alleging his arrest as wicked, concocted and sheer imagination of the writers.
Ibrahim, who issued a statement after Sahara Reporters went public, said the report, which was evidently planted to scandalise him, was of no issue to him.
He said he would have ignored the report, but that there was need to put the record straight.
According to Ibrahim, “our company, NICON Group, purchased 48 per cent shares of Air Nigeria sometime in 2010 and the Federal Inland Revenue came with alleged tax liabilities for the period of 2006 to 2010.
“They claimed that he who buys assets buys the liabilities of the company. That was in 2012. We requested for reconciliation of the taxes, which was, however, not conclusive. We closed down the airline and sold our shares to a commercial bank in Nigeria,” he said.
“Rather than pursuing the new owner for the taxes, FIRS instituted a civil suit against me at the Federal High Court.
“Whereas, the same law of who buys the assets buys the liabilities should apply, which is why FIRS should pursue the liability of Air Nigeria with the new owners.
Commenting further, he said: “Yesterday, the FIRS enforcement unit solicited my assistance about the new buyer, I opted to give them the full details and documents. Before I finished doing that, I read in Sahara Reporters that I had been arrested and detained for N6.8 billion fraud which is not true,” he said.
Commenting further on the issue, Ibrahim explained that before he gave them the details of the new owners of Air Nigeria, the FIRS had alleged that Air Nigeria procured tax papers in 2010 for expatriates.
“But I asked them how that concerned a Board Chairman. I asked them to ask the Executive Director (Finance), one John Nnorom, whose responsibility falls under that.”
According to him, “ we are genuine business people and we need a proper environment to operate our business. If I have committed any offence in becoming a non-executive chairman of a comppany like Air Nigeria, where I do not have personal share, charge me to court and wait for the judgment of the court,” he added.
Ibrahim added that if an officer of a corporation committed an offence such as forgery of tax papers and it is true, look for the officer and charge him to court, not the board chairman of the corporation,” he fumed.
The multi-billionaire businessman and publisher was yesterday quizzed by the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) for allegedly failing to pay tax of about N9 billion. When contacted to comment on the issue, the Director, Communication and strategy of FIRS, Mr Emmanuel Obeta, refused to mention how much was involved, saying that it was a matter already in court and would amount to prejudice to say that.
It will be recalled that in a move to improve tax collections by the service, it sealed off many companies which defaulted in paying their tax obligations and arrested their managers.
Also, chairman of FIRS, Alhaji Kabir Mashi, recently said that the service would be compelled to arrest the major tax defaulters if they failed to pay.
He threatened to invoke relevant laws against taxpayers that refuse to voluntarily fulfill their tax obligations.
No comments:
Post a Comment