BY Busola Aro
Niger State Internal Revenue Service (NGSIRS) has filed a case against the federal ministry of power and the Nigerian Electricity Liability Management Company (NELMCO), alleging tax evasion totalling N138.1 billion between 2017 and 2022.
The state revenue agency filed the case at the federal high court II in Minna, the state capital.
The plaintiff requested the court to compel the defendants in two different lawsuits to pay the state the outstanding ground rent and land charges from 2017.
In the first suit with No. FHC/MN/CS/1/24, the federal ministry of power and NELMCO are the first and second defendants while Kainji Hydro Electric Plc and Mainstream Energy Solutions Limited are third and fourth defendants respectively.
The second suit with No FHC/MN/CS/02/24 has the federal ministry of power and Nigerian Electricity Liability Management Agency as the first and second defendants while Shiroro Hydroelectric Power Plc and North South Power Company are the third and fourth defendants.
In the first suit, Aliyu Lemu, counsel to Niger state revenue service, told the court that the federal ministry of power and other defendants owed the state N116,133,882,800 in ground rents and land charges that had not been paid since 2017.
Lemu informed the court that only the fourth defendant was present when the issues were brought up for the first time.
Mohammed Ndayako, the plaintiff’s attorney in the second lawsuit, alleged that Niger State was owed N21,970,920,100 in unpaid ground rents and land charges since 2017 by the federal ministry of power, the Nigerian Electricity Liability Management Agency, Shiroro Hydroelectric Power Plc, and North South Power Company.
Ndayako said none of the defendants in the second lawsuit were present in court.
In the hearing of the two applications, Abdullahi Dan-Ige, the presiding judge, postponed the matter until February 19, 2024, for further consideration, directing that the defendants be properly served.
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