Benue revenue service has no mandate to fund agencies – BIRS chairman Kwaghgba

The Executive Chairman of the Benue State Internal Revenue Service (BIRS), Mr Joseph Kwaghgba, has dismissed allegations by the General Manager of the Benue State Environmental Sanitation Authority (BENSESSA), Anta Igbaato, that the revenue agency collects sanitation levies but fails to fund waste evacuation operations.

Kwaghgba, who spoke with journalists in his office on Monday, described the allegation as a misunderstanding of the statutory responsibilities of government agencies, insisting that BIRS has no legal mandate to disburse funds to any ministry, department or agency.

He explained that the responsibility of the revenue service is to identify, assess, collect and remit government revenue into the state’s coffers, while the release of funds to government agencies rests with the Ministry of Finance through the Office of the Accountant-General after legislative appropriation.

“Our mandate is very clear. We identify, assess, mobilise and remit government revenue to government coffers. It is not within our purview to redistribute the money we collect,” Kwaghgba said.

According to him, every government agency receives budgetary allocations through the annual appropriation process, while BIRS merely generates revenue to support the implementation of those budgets.

“It is rather laughable for anyone to say that BIRS is not funding them. There is no provision in the law for BIRS to finance government agencies. Once revenue is collected and remitted into government coffers, disbursement is handled by the Office of the Accountant-General through the Ministry of Finance, not BIRS,” he stated.

Responding to claims that BIRS collects environmental levies without supporting sanitation activities, the BIRS chairman maintained that BENSESSA also enjoys statutory rebates from some of the revenue collected for environmental services, but stressed that the agency should channel any complaints about funding to the appropriate authorities.

“If an agency says BIRS does not release money to it, then it has misunderstood where its funding comes from. Those releases do not come from BIRS. They come through the Ministry of Finance. I am not in a position to know when or how much any agency receives,” he said.

Kwaghgba also rejected suggestions that BIRS had taken over the responsibility of evacuating refuse from markets, saying the agency’s intervention at the Modern Market a few months ago was purely a voluntary response to an environmental emergency.

“We stepped in for the purpose of public safety and public health after there was a public outcry and BENSESSA appeared helpless. That should not be misconstrued as our statutory responsibility. It was simply an intervention based on available resources,” he explained.

He added that BIRS could offer similar support to other government agencies whenever compelling public interest demands, but insisted that such interventions remain discretionary and are not part of the agency’s legal responsibilities.

“There are instances where we can support sister agencies, but that does not transfer their statutory responsibilities to BIRS,” he said.

The BIRS chairman urged the leadership of BENSESSA to address its operational challenges through the appropriate channels instead of blaming the revenue agency.

“I advise the leadership of BENSESSA to sit down, identify where the challenges are coming from and channel them to the appropriate authority. They report to their supervising ministry, while I report to the Ministry of Finance. Together, the relevant authorities can fashion out solutions to those challenges,” Kwaghgba stated.

He further defended ongoing reforms in the state’s revenue administration, saying the government now generates significantly higher revenue because of strict adherence to financial laws and accountability measures.

According to him, allowing revenue-generating agencies to collect and spend public funds outside the legal appropriation process would violate financial regulations.

“Revenue administration is governed by law. Where you collect revenue and spend it directly becomes illegal. Every appropriation is the responsibility of the budget office, the Ministry of Finance and the State House of Assembly. Our responsibility is to collect and remit,” he said.

The latest response follows allegations made last Thursday by BENSESSA General Manager, Hon. Anta Igbaato, who claimed that BIRS collects sanitation levies from markets and other designated areas and was expected to make funds available to support waste evacuation in those locations.

Meanwhile, efforts are ongoing to obtain the reaction of the Benue State Commissioner for Finance to clarify whether the ministry has been releasing funds due to BENSESSA, following Kwaghgba’s assertion that the Ministry of Finance, and not BIRS, is responsible for disbursing funds to government agencies.