By Terna Francis

Benue State Internal Revenue Service (BIRS) today, distrained by sealing the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi (FUAM) over unremitted Pay As You Earn (PAYE) to the tune of over N2.3 billion.

BIRS Execitive Chairman, Mrs. Mimi Adzape-Orubibi who led an enforcement team to the University early hours of the day, sealed off the Vice Chancellor’s office, the office of the Registrar as well as that of the Bursar.

Speaking with newsmen shortly after the exercise, Mrs. Adzape-Orubibi said BIRS had to take that step after the institution failed to honour several letters written to it to pay up the outstanding Personal Income Tax from 2007 to 2011.

She explained that the BIRS got a court order to distrain FUAM because it deducted but failed to remit PAYE tax in some cases and under deducted in other cases; adding that the institution would now have to pay about N3 billion inclusive of penalties and interest.

While noting that though, the entire premises would have been sealed, the state government under the leadership of Governor Samuel Ortom is very concerned about education and would not want to render students helpless. She however posited that the decision to seal the institution became necessary owing to the continued evasion of tax by the school authority.

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