Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the Federal Inland Revenue, FIRS, traded words on Sunday over the engagement of Xpress Payments Solutions Limited as the new Treasury Single Account collecting agent.
Atiku had urged the Federal Government to immediately suspend the engagement of until the process leading to the firm’s appointment is subjected to public scrutiny.
In a statement shared on his verified X handle, #atiku, on Sunday, Atiku described the appointment as a “dangerous resurrection” of the Alpha Beta revenue cartel, which he said held sway during the administration of Bola Tinubu as governor of Lagos State.
According to him, the use of Alpha Beta as a revenue collector for Lagos State created a system that channelled public funds to private accounts at the expense of the people.
The statement read in part,” The quiet appointment of Xpress Payments Solutions Limited as a new TSA collecting agent is not an administrative decision, it is a dangerous resurrection of the Alpha Beta revenue cartel that dominated Lagos State during and after the Tinubu years.
“That model created a private toll gate around public revenue and funnelled state funds into the hands of a politically connected monopoly.
“What we are witnessing now is the attempt to nationalise that same template, moving Nigeria from a republic to a private holding company controlled by a small circle of vested interests.”
Atiku added that introducing such a policy amid worsening insecurity was insensitive,” To introduce such a policy in the middle of a national tragedy, while Nigerians are mourning loved ones lost to the deepening insecurity crisis, is not only insensitive, it is a deliberate act of governance by stealth.
“When a nation is grieving, leadership should show empathy and focus on securing lives, not on expanding private revenue pipelines.”
He also questioned the process that led to Xpress Payments’ engagement, noting that there was no legislative input.
However, the FIRS dismissed his criticism of the appointment of Xpress Payment Solutions Limited, describing his claims as “incorrect and misleading.”
In a statement signed by Arabinrin Aderonke Atoyebi, Technical Assistant on Broadcast Media to the FIRS Executive Chairman, the agency warned that Atiku’s remarks risk “unnecessarily politicising a purely administrative and technical process.”
She stressed that “for clarity, the FIRS does not operate any exclusive or single-gateway revenue-collection arrangement.
“The system is a multi-channel, multi-PSSP (Payment Solutions Service Provider) framework involving several long-established platforms, including Quickteller, Remita, Etranzact, Flutterwave, and XpressPay.”
According to the agency, the PSSPs form part of a transparent and competitive ecosystem designed to make tax payment more convenient for Nigerians.
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