CONTRARY to reports that the House of Representatives Committee on Finance has cleared six of the 21 banks of tax fraud, Deputy Chairman of the committee, Yomi Ogunnusi, says that, “no bank has been certified.”
   Noting that the committee was set up to complement the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) in improving Federal Government’s revenue, the accountant and tax expert said, however, that the committee could not have given any bank clearance on tax audit since it has not yet commenced the exercise.
   He disclosed that the committee has just recovered over N100 billion on operating surplus from Federal Government agencies, and that the audit is meant to block the porous practices by the banks and improve government’s revenue.
   However, he lauded the Minster of Finance/Coordinating Minster for the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, for her efforts in salvaging the economy. He said: “Okonjo-Iweala is an asset to this country and her efforts have helped the committee to discover the need to decentralize the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), which has serious control problem.
   “Owing to the problem in NNPC, the Minister of Finance cannot specifically say this is the amount the country is generating from oil.”