A member of the House of Representatives and former Secretary of the dissolved Presidential Committee on Reconciliation and Recovery of Stamp Duties Revenue, Kazaure Gudaji, has alleged that about N89 trillion in stamp duty revenue was diverted through various financial arrangements involving the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Gudaji, who made the allegation in a document obtained by SaharaReporters, claimed that the funds were not properly remitted into government coffers and called for an investigation into the management of stamp duty revenues under the administration of former CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele.
However, the allegation was disputed by the Presidency at the time. Presidential spokesperson Garba Shehu reportedly dismissed Gudaji’s claim, describing the ₦89 trillion figure as “ludicrous” and questioning his claim of serving as secretary of an executive committee.
Gudaji had earlier claimed that the committee was constituted by former President Muhammadu Buhari to investigate and recover outstanding stamp duty revenues.
According to him, the committee included officials such as the then Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed; the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami; the Director-General of the Department of State Services, Yusuf Bichi; retired Commissioner of Police Mohammed Wakili; and a retired National Intelligence Agency official identified as Mr Okafor.
He said he had written to Buhari on August 8 seeking approval for the committee’s activities.
Alleged Diversion Through Banking Circulars
In the document, Gudaji alleged that several CBN circulars and banking arrangements were used to divert or redirect stamp duty revenues that should have accrued to the Federal Government.
He traced part of the controversy to a CBN circular dated March 27, 2013, concerning charges on electronic transfers and other banking transactions.
According to his account, the School of Banking Honours (SBH), which he said had undertaken research into stamp duty collection on banking transactions, initially sought to work with the CBN and later entered into an arrangement with NIPOST concerning the collection and remittance of stamp duties.
Gudaji alleged that the CBN subsequently approved arrangements for the collection of stamp duties on certain transactions, but that disagreements arose over the charges and how the revenue should be collected and remitted.
He further alleged that a subsequent banking charge arrangement resulted in government stamp duty collections being blocked or diverted into other channels.
The former committee secretary claimed that SBH later issued a demand notice of approximately ₦7.7 trillion to the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), representing what it assessed as stamp duties due for 2013 and 2014.
According to him, NIBSS subsequently invited the organisation to discuss the recovery of the outstanding revenue.
Claims Involving CBN and Foreign Exchange Accounts
Gudaji’s document also made allegations concerning foreign exchange transactions and accounts operated by the CBN.
He claimed that about $171 billion had accumulated in what he described as a “Private Investors Account” between 2017 and April 2020.
He further alleged that some processing fees associated with foreign exchange transactions were not properly reflected in the CBN’s income records.
The claims also linked the alleged stamp duty diversion to various loans and financial interventions involving commercial banks.
Gudaji alleged that more than ₦23 trillion in loans had been extended by the CBN to some banks as of December 2019, suggesting that part of the funds could have originated from stamp duty revenues.
He also questioned the relationship between CBN funds and Federal Government debt issued through the Financial Markets Dealers Association, commonly known as FMDQ.
According to the document, he argued that the scale of some of the financial transactions warranted an independent examination of the sources and movement of the funds.
Committee Raises Questions Over N89.1tn Claim
Gudaji further alleged that the value of stamp duties due to the Federal Government and the states could amount to approximately N89.1 trillion.
He claimed that the relevant revenue had not been adequately accounted for and accused officials responsible for the collection and management of stamp duties of failing to provide sufficient information.
He also alleged that the CBN had failed to transfer certain unremitted stamp duty funds into a central stamp duty account for easier monitoring by the Federal Government.
The former lawmaker said the scale of electronic financial transactions in Nigeria had made stamp duty a potentially significant source of government revenue.
He cited Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) figures showing transactions worth more than N117 trillion within four months of 2022, arguing that the volume demonstrated the revenue potential of stamp duties.
Gudaji, however, acknowledged that NIBSS represented only one of several payment switches operating within the Nigerian financial system.
The document further claimed that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had previously been approached over some of the alleged irregularities.
According to Gudaji, the Ministry of Justice had directed the EFCC in 2016 to investigate issues surrounding an agreement connected to stamp duty collection.
He alleged that the investigation did not produce a publicly disclosed outcome.
Gudaji also said that he approached the EFCC in May 2021 for assistance concerning the alleged financial transactions but claimed that no public report had subsequently been released.
Call for CBN Governor’s Suspension
Based on the allegations contained in the document, the committee reportedly recommended that the then CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, be suspended to allow for a thorough investigation.
The recommendation formed part of a broader call for an examination of the collection, management and remittance of stamp duty revenues.
However, the allegations remained contested at the time of publication, with the Presidency rejecting Gudaji’s claims concerning the alleged N89 trillion diversion and questioning the status of the committee he said he represented.
The claims therefore placed the management of stamp duty revenue, the role of the CBN and the activities of financial institutions under renewed scrutiny, while raising broader questions about transparency and accountability in the management of public funds.
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