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Kaduna Government Seals Kaduna Disco Office Over N600 million ‘Unpaid Tax’

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The Kaduna State Internal Revenue Service has announced that it sealed the Kaduna Electricity Company Plc (Kaduna Electric) office over unpaid taxes amounting to N600 million.

The State Internal Revenue Service disclosed this on its X page on Friday, August 2, 2024.

It revealed that the decision is in line with Section 104 (1) & (4) of the Personal Income Tax Act, 2011, and Section 37 (3) & (4) of the Kaduna State Tax Codification and Consolidation Law, 2020, which empowers the service to enforce tax compliance.

Sealing Approved by Court

According to Zakari Jamilu Muhammad, the service’s Head of Corporate Communications, its officials had to seal the business premises of Kaduna Electric due to significant established tax liabilities.

Furthermore, he stated that the development was based on a court order.

“The Service secured a court order for the immediate closure and taking over of the company’s property until all unpaid taxes are settled,” the statement partly read.

More Insights

Amid the development, the Kaduna Electricity Company Plc (Kaduna Electric) later announced that it had cut off electricity supply to the Kaduna State Government House and other state government offices due to unpaid bills amounting to N2.9 billion.

Kaduna Electric disclosed this in a statement on Friday, August 2, 2024, indicating that the development underscores “growing tensions” between utility providers and state governments.

What You Should Know

The development comes as Kaduna Electric seeks financial stability.

Nairametrics previously reported that the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) had approved the acquisition of a 60% equity stake in Kaduna Electricity Company Plc (Kaduna Electric) by ASI Engineering Limited.

This was disclosed by Kaduna Electric via its X page on Friday, July 13, 2024.

The equity transaction followed a NERC report from six months ago, which revealed that the electricity distribution company had a debt of N110 billion ($130 million) owed to various entities, including the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trader and power generation firms.

As disclosed in the statement at the time, ASI’s vision is to make Kaduna Electric a national leader in electricity distribution, driving sustainable development and enhancing the quality of life through innovative and reliable solutions, thereby impacting residents, businesses, and industries in its franchise states (Kaduna, Zamfara, Sokoto, and Kebbi).

The collaboration is expected to focus on modernizing the electricity distribution network, implementing innovative solutions for energy management, and fostering greater customer satisfaction and engagement.

NERC was appreciated for facilitating the approval alongside the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE).

The terms of the acquisition agreement include that ASI will prioritize investments in Kaduna Disco infrastructure upgrades, employee training, and development, while embarking on community engagement initiatives to create lasting value for all stakeholders.

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Rivers Assembly Formally Serves Impeachment Notice To Gov. Fubara

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The Rivers State House of Assembly has formally served an impeachment notice to Governor Siminalayi Fubara and Deputy Governor Ngozi Odu.

 

The move marks the third major attempt to remove the governor since 2023, following his return to office in September 2025 after a six-month state of emergency.

 

Recall that the assembly on Thursday during an emergency plenary, commenced the impeachment of the governor and his deputy.

 

26 members of the House accused the governor of misconduct, capable of undermining democracy in the state.

 

The notice which was addressed to the governor, contained the signature of at least 19 lawmakers.

 

The notice also contained about 8 alleged gross misconducts by the governor and his administration.

 

In a post on its official Facebook page,the assembly said, “The impeachment notice has been successfully served on the Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara”.

 

 

 

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NCC, CBN Set To Roll Out Refund Framework For Failed Airtime And Data Transactions

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In line with the consumer-focused objectives of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the two regulators have drawn up a framework to address consumer complaints arising from unsuccessful airtime and data transactions during network downtimes, system glitches, or human input errors.

 

The framework is the outcome of several months of engagements involving the NCC, the CBN, Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), Value Added Service (VAS) providers, Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), and other relevant stakeholders. These engagements were prompted by a rising incidence of failed airtime and data purchases, where subscribers were debited without receiving value and experienced delays in resolution.

 

The Framework represents a unified position by both the telecommunications and financial sectors on addressing such complaints. It identifies and tackles the root causes of failed airtime and data transactions, including instances where bank accounts are debited without successful delivery of services. It also prescribes an enforceable Service Level Agreement (SLA) for MNOs and DMBs, clearly outlining the roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder in the transaction and resolution process.

 

Under the new framework, where a purchaser is debited but fails to receive value for airtime or data—whether the failure occurs at the bank level or with an NCC licensee—the purchaser is entitled to a refund within 30 seconds, except in circumstances where the transaction remains pending, of which the refund can take up to 24 hours.

 

The framework further mandates operators to notify consumers via SMS of the success or failure of every transaction. It also addresses erroneous recharges to ported lines, incorrect airtime or data purchases, and instances where transactions are made to the wrong phone number.

 

Speaking on the development, the Director of Consumer Affairs at the NCC, Mrs. Freda Bruce-Bennett disclosed that the framework also establishes a Central Monitoring Dashboard to be jointly hosted by the NCC and the CBN. According to her, the dashboard will enable both regulators to monitor failures, the responsible party, refunds, and track SLA breaches in real time.

 

“Failed top-ups rank among the top three consumer complaints, and in line with our commitment to addressing these priority issues, we were determined to resolve it within the shortest possible time,” she said.

 

“We are grateful to all stakeholders—particularly the Central Bank of Nigeria and its leadership—for their tireless commitment to resolving this issue and arriving at this framework, and for ensuring that consumers of telecommunications services receive full value for their purchases.

 

“So far, pending the approval of management of both regulators on the framework, MNOs and banks have collectively made refunds of over N10 billion to customers for failed transactions.”

 

Mrs. Bruce-Bennett further noted that implementation of the framework is expected to commence on March 1, 2026, once the two regulators have made final approvals, and technical integration by all MNOs, VAS providers and DMBs is concluded.

 

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PRESIDENT TINUBU HAILS NRS CHAIRMAN, ZACCH ADEDEJI, ON HIS BIRTHDAY

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President Bola Tinubu congratulates Dr Zacch Adedeji, the Chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service, on his birthday.

 

President Tinubu commends Adedeji’s sterling leadership of the 83-year-old revenue agency, the introduction of fresh ideas, the adoption of global best practices, the automation of systems, and the upskilling of staff members for the greater good of the nation.

 

“I salute the NRS Chairman for his visionary and charismatic dedication in restructuring, aligning and managing the revenue profile of the country.

 

“He recorded a historic achievement, meeting the budget targets in the Third Quarter of 2025, and stimulating the economy for prosperity.

 

“Zacch has also been instrumental in the adoption of the National Single Window, a transformative federal digital platform to streamline import and export processes, enhance transparency and reduce cargo clearance from 21 days to one week,” the President remarks.

 

Dr Adedeji previously served as a senior member of Procter & Gamble’s management team, as Commissioner of Finance for Oyo State, and as Executive Secretary of the National Sugar Development Council, where he established the National Sugar Institute.

 

He also served as Special Adviser to the President on Revenue before being appointed as FIRS chairman in September 2023.

 

The President prays that the Almighty God will grant the NRS Chairman more years of good health, wisdom and strength to keep serving the nation.

 

 

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