Benue demands ED NRS for north central

• Accuses FG of flouting laws establishing the agency

From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

The recent appointment of Executive Directors of the Nigerian Revenue Service, NRS by the Federal Government for the six geopolitical zones of the country has caught the ire of Benue indigenes

There has been public outcry following the appointment of the Executive Directors, which has allegedly been done in total disregard to the provisions of the Nigerian Revenue Service (Establishment) Act 2025.

Section 17 (1), Part IV of the NRS Act 2025, that was recently signed into law by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, states that: “The President shall appoint six Executive Directors for the Service, each representing a geopolitical zone on rotational basis among the states in the zone in alphabetical order provided that the Executive chairman and the Executive Director shall not come from the same state.”

However, despite the provisions of the NRS Act, instead of appointing someone from Benue state for the position of Executive Director, for the North-Central zone, the Federal Government appointed someone from Niger State for the position.

This invariably means that for the position of Executive Director, for the North-Central, should have been given to someone from Benue state, because the state is the first in alphabetical order.

The development has led to an outcry from the people of Benue state who are demanding that “the right thing should be done” and the state should be handed the slot meant for the North-Central geopolitical zone.

The appointment has become a matter of discussion among members of public who are calling on the FG, “to reverse the appointment and do the right thing” by giving Benue what is rightly due to it.

While they bashed the FG for taking such a stand, they argued that this is the first time that appointments have been made for the positions by the federal government in this direction and the FG has flouted the stimulated guidelines for the appointment.

Describing the move as contrary to the law establishing the NRS, most of the discussants advised the FG to rescind its decision so as to gain the confidence of Nigerians on the recent tax laws that were introduced by the FG.

Peoples Daily gathered that apart from the appointment of Iniabasi Akpan from Akwa Ibom State, as Executive Director, representing the South-South states, the appointments for the remaining five geopolitical zones were flawed.

The people are piqued that even members of the National Assembly from the affected states were afraid to speak on the issue, stressing that the development is not good for our nascent democracy.