ABUJA, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)-The Executive Secretary of Tertiary Education Trust Fund, Sonny Echono, has emphasized the need for collaboration between TETFUND and the Nigeria Extractive Transparency Initiative (NEITI) to address gaps in revenue payments made by the extractive industry to the Federal Government through the Federal Inland Revenue Service.
He also stressed the importance of ensuring tax compliance by companies to guarantee that they remit the exact amounts they are required to pay.
According to a statement Echono made this appeal during his working visit to the NEITI head office in Abuja on Wednesday.
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He was quoted to have said, “There was need for clarity on tax compliance by extractive companies to ensure that they pay what they ought to pay, as well as revenue transparency on reporting to ensure that there are no gaps between companies’ payments and their disclosures to the FIRS.”
“These pieces of information will enable TETFUND to expand its support for infrastructural development of tertiary institutions in Nigeria.”
Echono affirmed TETFUND’s trust in the credibility of NEITI’s data.
In response, the Director General of NEITI, Dr. Ogbonnaya Orji, assured that NEITI would assist TETFUND in identifying and addressing compliance gaps within the extractive sector.
He emphasized that by utilizing its expertise in financial auditing and revenue tracking, NEITI would help strengthen accountability in the management of education tax funds.
“To enhance decision-making, policy formulation and resource allocation to critical educational needs, partnership and technical support from TETFUND to complete the NEITI data centre would be a strategic investment”, Orji said.