By Tom Okpe
Civil Society Groups for Good Governance (CSGGG) has berated the Human Rights Writers Association (HURIWA) over alleged expenditure of the sum of N1.4 billion by the federal inland revenue service (FIRS) on refreshment and meals in the 2021 fiscal year.
An assemblage of over 180 CSOs, CSGGG urged the Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko led HURIWA and Transparency international (TI) to refrain from maligning the Federal Inland Revenue Service, under the leadership of Muhammad Nami.
THE Association, led by Dominic Ogakwu which probed into the issue maintained that at no time did the FIRS invited such expenditure adding that budget provision being an estimate of income and a plan for domestic expenditure by an organization, does not translate to actual expenditure.
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Speaking with journalists in Abuja on Wednesday, Ogakwu said: “In view of these statistical data proving the FIRS integrity, CSGGG unanimously condemn the action taken by HURIWA and Transparency International.
“It is our considered opinion that the said groups were misinformed and misguided if not misled, by some shameless and faceless shenanigans, who enjoy playing politics with anything and everything for their own selfish reasons.”
Continuing, the group added: “What would it take a group which prides itself as champions of Human Rights and advocates of Public Transparency, to approach the FIRS for verification before going public with such damning allegations,” he quried.
He urged HURIWA and TI to visit the service forthwith for an inquest, “rather than sitting on the fence to cast aspersions.”
The group, however, canvassed better welfare packages for the staff of FIRS and other revenue-generating agencies of government in order to stimulate performances of public servants to enable them to shun sharp practices.
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