The Nasarawa State Board of Internal Revenue says it will henceforth arrest government officials using government number plates on their private vehicles.
The board Chairman, Yakubu Ahmed, made the disclosure during an interview with newsmen in his office in Lafia, the state capital.
He said that government officials using government number plates to evade payment of vehicle tax will be penalized and necessary actions be taken against them in line with the provision of the laws.
According to Mr Ahmed, the board would not tolerate any act of sabotage by individuals, disclosing that the board has set a benchmark of N3billion monthly.
Mr Ahmed explained that security agencies had been mandated to check particulars of private vehicles using government number plates and ensure that the papers are up to date.
He further said that the board was working round the clock to block all linkages that may arise as result of human error.
“We had a report from the security and road safety calling our attention to the security risk because people commit crimes with these vehicles making it difficult for the government to trace them.
“We have instructed the security to impound those vehicles that have government number plate without proper particulars.
“We notice quite a number of vehicles without number plates, or expired number plates and its security challenge.
“The board has introduced measures to ensure that tax within the state is tracked and remitted to the appropriate authority.
“We now have a unified billing system that all ministry and departments will make payments for efficiency.”
Mr Ahmed said that the board monitors all government agencies and parastatals to ensure that payments done are in line with the set out rules and regulation.
He noted that if the board was granted autonomy, it would perform better and redesign its mandate for better efficiency.
“All payments are done through the bank which will be accessed through our platform to find out the performance of every government agency.
“We have put in place mechanism where we will continue to ensure that whatever charges someone is paying will be done using the central billing system of the state.
“In doing that, we can get so much money for the state.
“The N3 Billion target is achievable if we have increased manpower, autonomy, vehicles and more budgetary allocation to enable the board to rally round.”
He, therefore, called on all Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, and other relevant stakeholders in the state to key into meeting the target to lessen dependence on federal allocation.
