“Reps Investigate N11.632 Trillion Revenue Collected by Banks for Federal Government via REMITA Platform”

The House of Representatives has initiated an investigation into the N11.632 trillion revenue collected by Access Bank, Citi Bank, Ecobank, and Fidelity Bank on behalf of the Federal Government through the REMITA platform between 2015 and 2022.

The investigation focuses on potential revenue leakages, non-compliance with standard operating procedures, and other allied service agreements.

According to records obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Access Bank collected a total sum of N2.661 trillion for 3,502,486 transactions within the period under review.

The bank earned a fee of N858,734,455.99 for the services rendered.

Similarly, Citi Bank collected the sum of N643,427,225,110.96 between 2016 and 2022. However, the bank failed to disclose the fees earned for 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 fiscal years.

Ecobank collected the sum of N1,480,576,309.08 from 1,557,487 transactions carried out between 2015 and 2022, generating a fee of N253,848,598.05.

Fidelity Bank, on the other hand, collected the sum of N6.847 trillion in 11,696,547 transactions carried out between 2015 and 2022.

The bank generated a fee of N789,294,408.86 for the period under consideration.

The House Committee on Public Accounts has requested the banks to provide all the agreements signed with Systemspec/REMITA for collecting revenue on behalf of the Federal Government, as well as a breakdown of Value Added Tax (VAT) and Withholding Tax (WHT) collected within the period, with evidence of payment into relevant government coffers.

The investigation aims to ensure transparency and accountability in the collection of revenue by the banks on behalf of the Federal Government.

The outcome of the investigation will shed light on the compliance of the banks with standard operating procedures and service agreements and help identify any potential revenue leakages.