Benue State Board of Internal Revenue Service, on Friday, sealed off the premises of Oracle Business owned by the immediate past governor of the state, Samuel Ortom over an alleged N93.5m tax default.
Also sealed in the operation led by the BIRS acting Chairman, Sunday Odagba, and Board Secretary/Legal Adviser, Ushahemba Dekaa, were Jagshu Filling Station over alleged N2.1m and Ubgechi Filling Station also in default of alleged N2.1m.
A group loyal to the past governor, known as ‘Defenders of’ had in June 2024 raised the alarm about plans by the administration of the state Governor, Rev Fr Hyacinth Alia, to cripple the investment of his predecessor, Samuel Ortom, in the state.
The President of the group, Amos Uchiv, in a statement issued in Makurdi had revealed the plan to raid and shut down all companies under Oracle Business Limited by raising spurious allegations.
Oracle enterprise was founded by the former governor.
Reacting to the statement then, the media aide to the governor, Solomon Iorpev, said that the government would not mind tracing state funds that might have been diverted to private use.
But last Friday, the State Board of Internal Revenue Service stormed Oracle business and sealed off the place
Meanwhile, the Managing Director of Oracle Business, Chris Omiyi, said that the company received letters of tax evaluation totalling N138m, saying, “We sent our tax consultant to them and the liability dropped to N38m.
“Even that amount was spurious but because we are peace-loving, we agreed to pay the N38m. But there is still a dispute of N15m which we are to resolve in the office. They fixed a date for the resolution; we got there the people we deal with were not on seat.”
But the Chairman of BIRS dismissed the explanation and stated that Oracle Business and others failed in their obligations “because we had served them demand notices, they did not object and they did not pay.”
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