By Ben Adoga, with agency report
The Federal Capital Territory Internal Revenue Service (FCT–IRS) generated N43.8bn in January 2025.
The acting Executive Chairman of the services, Mr Michael Ango, disclosed this at a press briefing in Abuja shortly before a street show to sensitise FCT residents towards voluntarily paying their taxes.
He said the Service did not only generate that much within one month of 2025 but that it was already beating the target and surpassing the 2024 target.
Ango also threatened to impose a N500,000 minimum penalty on defaulters of annual returns filing in the FCT.
He said they surpassed their target by N12bn for the 2024 financial year and are also working towards surpassing the 2025 target.
“At the end of the year, we collected a total amount of N262bn, against a target of N250bn. While this was good, we believe that it can be better. In 2025, we also started very strong. In January, we collected N43.8bn,” he said.
Ango explained that voluntary tax payment was necessary to increase government revenues and facilitate development.
He said the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, is well known as ‘Mr Project’ and that he needs funds to provide the needed infrastructure, as government allocation alone would not be enough.
He said the road show was to attract attention so that their message could be passed to FCT residents.
“As we dance, as we sing on the streets, please let Abuja residents know that the FCT IRS wants to partner with them to build a world-class city where we have good roads, we have running water, we have good hospitals, our children can go to good schools, we have ambulances, we have security, we have street lights, we have parks, and all of the other things that make a city attractive,” he said.
Ango said the tax was the people’s contribution towards infrastructure provision.
.He said it is what can make Abuja a world-class city.
“The Abuja that we envisage is an Abuja that can sit along any of the major capital cities in the world,” he stated.
The acting Chairman assured Abuja residents that Wike is always up to using funds to develop infrastructure.
•Defaulters of annual returns filing to pay N500,000 penalty
Meanwhile, the FCT-IRS has threatened to impose a N500,000 minimum penalty on defaulters of annual returns filing in the FCT.
Ango explained that the law had set a minimum penalty of N500,000 for persons who did not file their 2024 annual returns in January 2025.
He said that the first filing deadline for the year was January 31, 2025, when the employer’s annual returns were due, adding a reasonable number of companies had filed.
He commended every company that filed their employees’ annual returns, adding that the FCT-IRS would write them a letter of commendation.
He, however, said, “For those who did not file, we are also going to write them a letter but not a letter of commendation. We will notify penalties for noncompliance and then allow them to comply.
“We have already written to a number of them, informing them of the minimum penalty of N500,000, but that is not just it; we also have the power to prosecute defaulters.”
He added that every person, whether in employment or not, will have another 30-day deadline to file their annual income tax.
Ango explained that the law mandates that every person, whether in employment or not, file their annual income tax returns by March 31 every year.
“This is one of the things that we hope this roadshow will be able to achieve. We want to see compliance as high as possible,” he said.
He appealed to law-abiding citizens to pay their taxes voluntarily, adding that tax payment was a lawful obligation.
According to him, where the law creates an obligation, it also creates penalties and sanctions for noncompliance.
“We believe in voluntary compliance as the best form of compliance, but if you do not comply voluntarily, we’ll have no option than to enforce the law, even if we don’t want to.
“The laws mandate us to do so, but we pray and hope that it doesn’t get there. The public also has responsibilities. We expect those of you who have not registered to come and register with the FCT-IRS.
“We pray that one day we’ll have 100 percent tax compliance in Abuja, and we’ll all be able to sit down and say that I contributed to the building of this great city, Abuja.”
*Constitutes service kiosks in plazas, markets
Similarly, the FCT-IRS plans to establish service kiosks in plazas and markets in Federal Capital City and the six area councils.
Ango explained that the move was to bring services closer to the people and promote voluntary tax compliance.
“Apart from sensitisation to promote voluntary tax compliance, very soon you will see us setting up kiosk offices in the plazas and the markets, both within the city centre and in the area councils.
“The whole idea is that we need to reach out to taxpayers wherever they are,” he said.
He noted that one of taxpayers’ complaints was that they did not see what their taxes were being used for.
He, however, pointed out that that was not the case in FCT.
“I believe that wherever you stay in the FCT, you will see at least some presence of the FCT Administration within your area. This could be roads, streetlights, or one form of construction, and a lot of work is still being done,” he said.
Ango added that the FCT-IRS has 16 tax offices spread out across the city, adding that the service would expand into some areas without offices.
He also said that the service would partner with the market associations, the informal sector, and the area councils to boost IGR collection in the FCT.
He appealed for the public’s support of voluntary compliance, saying, “Abuja is a city that needs revenue for development.”
