Vanguard newspaper publisher, Sam Amuka Pemu
By NewsBits
A former staff of the Vanguard Newspaper, Emeka Mamah, has sued the media organisation over alleged pension and tax fraud.
Mamah dragged his former employers to the National Industrial Court, NIC, complaining against fraudulent activities of the media organisation, including deducting taxes and pensions from his monthly emoluments without remitting the money to appropriate tax authorities or pension managers of members of staff.
Already, the NIC has fixed January 24, 2023, for the commencement of the suit, filed on his behalf by an Enugu based lawyer, Barr Jama Eze. Mamah, claimed that the management of
Vanguard Media Limited, printers of Vanguard Newspapers, deducted both his taxes and pension contributions without remitting the fund to both his pension manager – Trustfund Pensions or the appropriate tax authorities, while he worked for them, contrary to the laws of the land.
Mamah stated in his claims on oath, “I served Vanguard for 23 years of meritorious service and was retired on Monday, June 3, 2019. I had risen to the position of Regional Editor, Southeast, when I was retired.
“During the long period of my employment, in the service of Vanguard Media Limited, the respondent religiously deducted sums of money from my monthly emoluments as my taxes and monthly pension contributions before paying over the balance to me as my monthly take- home- pay.
“However, unknown to me, the Respondent was neither regularly remitting the deductions from my monthly emoluments, nor the Company’s own contributions to Trustfund Pensions, my pension Administrator, a gross act of professional misconduct, which to the knowledge of the Respondent, amounts to Pension Fraud.
“Also, unknown to me, the Respondent was similarly not remitting the deductions from my monthly emoluments as taxes to the appropriate tax authorities, thereby evading taxes in flagrant violation of the provisions of the Income Pay As You Earn, PAYE, tax laws, a gross professional misconduct, which to the knowledge of the Respondent amounts to tax fraud.
“Apart from withholding my monthly pension contributions, the Company’s own contributions, as well as my income tax, the Respondent has also, failed, refused and, or neglected to pay my gratuity to which I became entitled since my retirement in 2019, up till this moment, despite repeated demands, amounting to N12, 271, 405.17 made up of N7,682, 222.94;N4,589, 194.23 (being my pension contributions deducted from my monthly emoluments but not remitted to my Pension Administrator) among others…”
