Lawmaker Sponsors Revenue Monitoring Agency Bill

Following the passage of the bill streamlining and granting autonomy to the Rivers State Internal Revenue Service, the lawmaker representing Obio/Akpor Constituency II, Hon. Michael Okey-Chinda, has introduced   Internal Revenue Monitoring Agency Bill  on the floor of the House.

The bill which underwent first reading last Wednesday seeks to establish a body, the Rivers State Internal Revenue Service Monitoring Agency.

According to the sponsor of the proposed law, the objective of the bill was to ensure that all funds generated for the state by the Ministries, Departments and Agencies  of the Rivers State Government were paid into the government’s coffers.

Hon. Chinda explained that the bill when passed into law would check illegal diversion of state funds by public officers and expose leakages in internally generated revenue with a view to blocking them.

“It will identify MDAs that collect revenue on behalf of government but fail to remit same to the appropriate government account and promote fiscal discipline, transparency and adherence to standard practice in financial transaction” he said.

The Tide learnt that the bill provides for the establishment of a governing board of nine members that shall be responsible for running affairs of the agency, with an executive chairman with a representative of the Ministry of Finance, Office of the Accountant General, Board of Internal Revenue and five others who are experts in Taxation, accounting, Economics and Statistics.

After the presentation of the bill, the Speaker, Rt Hon. Otelemaba Amachree, directed that the bill be heard again at the second reading when the merits and the demerits shall be deliberated upon.

It would be recalled that this is the second time Hon. Chinda has brought a private member bill to the seventh Assembly. The first was the Rights of Women to share in family property in Rivers State which died after the report stage of its passage.