Revenues of the Federal Government are usually paid into designated banks and forwarded to the federation account, Mrs Queenselly Seghosime, an Acting Director in the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has said.

Seghosime told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)in Abuja on Sunday that such accounts were managed and maintained by the Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF).

She said the funds so collected were usually shared among the states during the monthly meeting of the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee meeting (FAAC).

NAN reports that the FAAC meeting is usually presided over by the Minister of State for Finance and attended by the Accountant-General of the Federation and State Commissioners for Finance.

The official said the service did not handle payments but merely issued receipts to organisations paying funds to the federal government, after notification by the office of the AGF and the receiving banks.

Seghosime said the clarification became necessary to sustain public confidence in the revenue collection and distribution machinery which formed the basis for funding development programmes across the country.

She said that contrary to media reports, the Service did not handle revenues accruing to Federal Government as the processes put in place by the government checked the likelihood of fraud.

"The Executive Chairman of the FIRS does not even see any of the funds paid into the federal government coffers and so cannot have embezzled any".

Seghosime said the country would be hosting the 31st session of the Commonwealth Association of Tax Administration (CATA) in Abuja in October.

The 46 member-association held its 30th session in Lilongwe, Malawi in September 2009. (NAN).