Following an outcry by Nigerians who criticised the idea of compulsory registration by bank account holders with their financial institutions, the Federal Government of Nigeria has withdrawn the idea and tendered an apology.
After the announcement, Nigerians had taken to social media to question why they had to go to their banks again to undergo the rigorous exercise of registering again when they had already done both the BVN and National Identity Numbers registration.
Recall that the FG had on Thursday, September 17, tweeted from its account that all bank account holders in financial institutions are to undergo a compulsory registration exercise different from BVN, adding that failing to do so will attract a penalty.
However, following outrage by Nigerians on social media, the FG quickly dropped the idea, announcing that the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), will be making further announcements.
According to the FG, the tweets which have now been deleted were “misleading”, as the registration does not apply to “everybody”.
Apologising, the FG said: “We apologize for the misleading tweets (now deleted) that went up yesterday, regarding the completion of self-certification forms by Reportable Persons. The message contained in the @firsNigeria Notice does not apply to everybody. FIRS will issue appropriate clarification shortly.”
The now-deleted tweets had asked Nigerians to pick up self-certification forms from their financial institutions, complete them, and return. The aim, the FG said, is to help “financial institutions to carry out due diligence procedures in line with the Income Tax Regulations 2019.”
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