FIRS demands apology from FCTA over Abuja office sealing

The Federal Inland Revenue Service has denied owing ground rent on any of its properties in Abuja and has demanded a public apology from officials of the Federal Capital Territory Administration over the recent shutdown of one of its offices.

The FCTA, on Monday, had earlier sealed off an FIRS facility in Abuja over alleged non-payment of ground rent, as part of a wider clampdown on property owners defaulting on statutory payments.

Reacting to the development in a press conference on Monday, Special Adviser on Media to the FIRS Chairman, Dare Adekanmbi, said the agency had fulfilled all its obligations and described the action taken by FCTA as “rascality.”

“Why did they go to only two offices to say that we are owing ground rate on those two?” Adekanmbi queried. “Are you saying that we paid ground rate on others and we did not pay on those two offices? It is not possible. All our offices in Abuja listed in this letter, we paid ground rate.”

He further stated that for the specific property in question, the FIRS paid a total of ₦2,364,326 as ground rent.

“We don’t know why they refused to accommodate the money that was paid, why they refused to issue receipts for the money,” he said. “And they also went ahead to carry out this rascality, as my colleague said. Because this is what they have done. They have only invaded our premises for no just cause.”

Adekanmbi stressed that the FIRS, as a law-abiding agency, should not have been subjected to such treatment and insisted that FCTA officials must explain their actions to the public.

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“We are demanding an apology from FCT officials who came to carry out this rascality. And they must explain to Nigerians why they chose that option. Because this is a government agency—a government agency that is law-abiding, that is carrying out the mandates of the President.”

He described the FIRS as “the most consequential government agency in Nigeria today,” noting that it accounted for a significant portion of government revenue.

“Sixty-five percent of the money that was shared at FAC in 2024, from January to December, was from tax revenue collected by FIRS,” Adekanmbi added.