TheCable

The house of representatives has mandated its committees on finance, housing and urban development and region planning to investigate the alleged non-remittance of N5.6 billion by the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria to Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).

The resolution of the house was sequel to motion sponsored by Ossai Ossai and Victor Nwokolo, both lawmakers from Delta state.

Moving the motion on the floor of the house on Tuesday, Ossai said the bank was established to provide long-term credit facilities which would encourage mortgage institutions at state and federal levels.

“Between 2011 and 2015, the bank generated a total revenue of N44.073 billion, with N13.17 billion of having it been generated in 2015, but the bank defaulted in the remittance of value added tax (VAT) collections to FIRS to the tune of N3.4 billion,” he said.

“Due to the poor handling of successive managements of the bank, there had been unimaginable high volume of non-performance of 70 percent of the bank’s risk assets and loans, thus resulting in sharp erosion of its capital structure and the national housing funds deposits.

“The mismanagement of the bank has led to huge administrative expenditure to the extent that its annual average of staff maintenance is N4 billion, while director fees and expenses are on the average of N200 million annually.”

While citing section 40 of the FIRS act which said 10 percent should be paid for withheld or un-remitted tax, Ossai said there was the need to recover the N5.6 billion so it would be injected into the economy.

The house adopted the motion after it was put to a voice vote by Yakubu Dogara, the speaker.