Category: South West

THE Executive Chairman, Ogun State Internal Revenue Services (OGIRS), Mr. Olugbenga Olaleye, has said digitisation of processes involved in the payment of taxes in the state will reduce revenue leakages and increase revenue generation in 2022.

He spoke in Abeokuta while defending his agency’s budget proposal of over N56billion for the next fiscal year, before the state lawmakers, saying OGIRS was also focused to ensure that tax agents and tax payers carried out their civic responsibilities with comfort.

Olaleye said the filling processes are on digitisation, which is called Ogun State Electronic Tax Administration Portals (OGETAX), for the typical business environment, adding: “The Tax Auditing Monitoring Agents (TAMAs) do not come to our office, but operate from the comfort of their homes. They can open the portals, see the audits allocated to them, as the reports are coming in, they download into the system and review. These are areas done manually in the past where there were leakages.”

The chairman expressed confidence and said that the 2022 revenue figure would be delivered as presented, especially with the right infrastructure received in time from the state government.

While appreciating the government for the operational vehicles received in 2021, he solicited provision of more buses that would enhance revenue enforcement drive in 2022.

The Alakola of Ikola-Ijesa in Atakumosa West Local Government of Osun State, Oba Festus Adeyemi, has hailed Governor Adegboyega Oyetola for his efforts to diversify the economy through gold mining.

A statement yesterday by the Special Adviser on Civic Engagement, Oyintiloye Olatunbosun, said that Oba Adeyemi, during a rural/community engagement programme, noted that with more revenue coming into the state’s coffers through mining, Osun would soon end over-reliance on federal allocation, even as the nation continued to struggle to end reliance on crude oil for revenue.

He said: “I want to commend the governor for taking mining activities from artisan to corporate level, with the involvement of private sector players coming for exploration and exportation.

“This will have a positive effect on the economy of the state because with the current efforts of the governor, in the next few years, gold will be our own crude oil in Osun State.

“Our state will be known for major supply of gold in Nigeria and around the world.

“We are also collaborating with the Federal Government on mining. Our state is one of the two states, along with Kebbi State, selected as pilot states for the Presidential Artisanal Gold Mining Development Initiative (PAGMI).”

Adeyemi, as an Oba of a community where mining activities take place, also hailed Oyetola’s positive efforts in the areas of health, infrastructure, agriculture and education across the state.

Governor Oyetola, represented by his Special Adviser on Civic Engagement, Oyintiloye Olatunbosun, said Osun was known for large deposit of mineral resources such as gold, lead, zinc, quartz, feldspar and several precious metals.

He said his administration was determined to invest in the resources for the growth of the economy.

A chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State, Chief Olumide Aderinokun has called out  Governor Dapo Abiodun over the low spate of development across the state.

He charged  Abiodun to develop other key sectors in the state aside from road rehabilitation which according to him are taking longer than expected.

Aderinokun who doubles as a property developer and the Co-founder of Olumide and Stephanie Aderinokun Foundation with his wife, revealed his benchmark for the government as he continues to touch lives in Ogun State with his not-for-profit organisation.

“The governor claims to be building the future but sincerely where is it if people cannot point out any new development and basic amenities provided in their local government areas.

“Overall, Ogun State can do better than what we have at the moment. The Amosun administration touched road development across the three Senatorial Districts.

“Governance and leadership is not algebra that you can manipulate with nothing to show in almost three years. The records are there to prove it, insecurity is on another level and for infrastructures, is there any key thing apart from the roads construction we saw in the previous administration?

“A critical look into developments in Ogun Central Senatorial District, shows that through the support of my foundation, we have touched all major sectors that will improve the standard of living of people which is very important and we won’t be resting on our oars in the forthcoming year.”

“It is another December to mark the end of 2021, how many achievements can you count in Ogun State without road rehabilitation? Is it only the City Gate and Kobape Estate we have to show as new developments in Ogun Central after 12 months?”

Aderinokun, on his part, initiated Free Fuel for Okada riders in the six Local Government Areas in Ogun Central – a programme which is in its fifth phase, organised a football tournament for youths in Ifo and Ewekoro LGAs, non-interest loans for traders in the Central Senatorial District, compensation funds worth #50,000 each for victims of Lafenwa Market fire and scholarships worth #50,000 each to 60 Secondary School students, all under the 12 months in 2021.

Lagos State Government has advised its workforce to develop themselves and become indispensable.

It said they should ensure that they delivered their best to Lagosians.

Establishment, Training and Pensions Commissioner Mrs. Ajibola Ponnle gave the advice at the end of a project close-out session agenda on ‘Competency Framework Development Project for Lagos State Public Service’, held at the Staff Clinic, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos.

She said the project was for all civil servants, adding:  “Now that the project is available, civil servants don’t need to wait for the government to send them on training, especially now that training is available everywhere.”

The commissioner said the government launched project talent, a reform for the civil service, aimed at delivering Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s THEMES agenda.

“The idea of the project is to identify the behaviour and attitude required of every single service cadre, so that we know exactly and have global holistic view of what is needed and required at any point in time by each civil servant.

“Training is now available everywhere. The Learning Management System (LMS) is available for civil servants. You can have it everywhere, even on your phone. Carry it anywhere, once you get one, take your training in your hand and start running it. You don’t need to wait for anybody to call you,” Ponnle added.

Head of Service Mr. Hakeem Muri-Okunola thanked the organisers of the programme and urged them not to rest on their oars.

Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun yesterday announced N1million gift and immediate employment for the best graduating student of the Mountain Top University (MTU), Daniella Oluseyi.

The 20-year old, who graduated with a Cumulative Grade Point Average of 4.96 in Economics for the 2020/2021 academic session, broke down in tears when she heard the announcement.

Abiodun, who announced the gift after delivering the convocation lecture for the second and third convocation of the university, praised Daniella for pursuing excellence with faith, knowledge and resilience.

He assured the university that he would take seriously, the challenge of the Vice Chancellor, Prof Elijah Ayolabi that the government should explore the Dahomey basin, which he noted, was rich in asphalt and other minerals.

The governor said as an oil and gas expert, he was aware of the state’s oil producing and mining potential as a result of its location along the Dahomey basin.

He promised to work so that the state would not miss the potential revenue, as it did when it lost the Dangote Refinery to Lagos State.

Abiodun also promised to dredge the Ogun River, which the vice chancellor said was preventing the university from moving to its permanent site at Matogi/Oba.

In his lecture titled: “Quest for Excellence: The Nexus of Faith, Knowledge and Resilience”, the governor urged the students to participate in the political process.

Abiodun urged the university to help indigent students attend the institution by making room for work-study programme, as it is being done at the Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED).

The Chancellor and General Overseer of the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM), Dr. Daniel Olukoya, said the university emphasised skills development for students and made it mandatory for students to learn to play a musical instrument.

“I am proud to note that you cannot graduate from MTU without learning a vocation. You also learn a musical instrument and a foreign language. What it means is that you cannot be hungry,” he said.

High point of the event was the conferment of honorary doctor of letters degree on the wife of the Chancellor, Mrs. Shade Olukoya.

Forty-five students graduated with first class out of 342 graduating students. While Daniela got N500,000, Mrs. Olukoya’s prize for overall best graduating student, the remaining 44 first class students were given N250,000 each.

The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, has seized a beaded crown from an Ifa priest (diviner), who allegedly paraded himself as a king.

The priest, Ifatokun Morakinyo, was said to have worn the crown during an Ifa ceremony, while parading himself as a king.

Oba Adeyemi hanged the crown on a tree after seizing it.

A statement by the traditional ruler explained that the Alaafin seized the crown to avert violence in Isale-Oyo, having received petitions against Morakinyo (aka Oba Edu) for parading himself as a king.

The process leading to the selection of new Orimolusi of Ijebu Igbo in Ogun State has begun with the appointment  of the Warrant Chiefs (Afobaje) by the Ijebu North Local Government, as advised by the Ogun State Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs.

The Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Afolabi Afuape, disclosed this to The Nation last night.

The Nation learnt that the 11-man committee of warrant chiefs has chosen Prof. Ademola Adedeji as the Chairman and Mr. Fatayo Bolujo as the Secretary.

Sources close to Ijebu North Local Government said other warrant chiefs are Prof. Yinka Balogun, Prof. Kola Balogun, Prof. Layi Ogunkoya, Chief Ademola Okusanya, Chief P. O. Omotara, Prof. Bisi Ogunfowora, Mr. Olusegun Olusanya, Prof. B. Obigbesan and  Prof. Ayo Ogunye.

The Committee is expected to submit its report within fourteen (14) days.

Home to prominent Nigerians that have distinguished themselves in various fields of human endeavours including business and politics, Ijebu-Igbo has been without a monarch for 27 years following the death of Oba Samuel Adetayo, Ikupakude IV, the Orimolusi, in 1994.

For nearly three  decades, Ijebu-Igbo and its people have been contending with acrimony, mutual mistrust, stunted development, dashed hopes, tortuous litigation and routine youth violence in their long quest for a new Oba.

In June 14, 2012, a ray of hope swept through the faces of the residents and they thought the long wait was over when the Appeal Court sitting in Ibadan upheld the judgment of an Ijebu-Igbo High Court which had earlier favoured Prince Saliu Adebisi Sadiku as the person to mount the throne of their forebears.

While those that went to Appeal Court in Ibadan in 2012 for the judgment were yet to return, the town erupted into spontaneous jubilation, hoping that in a matter of days from the date of that verdict, a new Oba would formally be put in place, but the joy and victory songs were rather short-lived as one of the parties in the legal battle over Orimolusi stool rushed to the Supreme for another round of Appeal.

And for the litigation – weary indigenes, some of them began to blame the then new government of Governor Ibikunle Amosun.

In their estimation at the time, had the government not dilly-dallied, a new Oba would have been installed with the backing of the Appeal Court verdict and there would have been no opportunity for the case going to the Supreme Court on Appeal but the government cleverly pushed the blame back to the town, advising contenders to the throne to resolve their differences amicably and to also withdraw all pending court cases in respect of the Orimolusi stool as the state government would neither impose an Oba on them nor install one in defiance of pending legal dispute over the throne.

With the latest arrangement, it is hope that all issues have been resolved a new path charted towards selecting and installing the next Orimolusi after 27 years interregnum.

Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu said yesterday that the state government had planted over eight million trees across the state since 2008.

He made this known in Ikoyi, during the kick-off of the 1,000 Tree Planting Project in Lagos, tagged: “The Evergreen Project Lagos”, an initiative of Miss Naita Gupta of the African Steel Evergreen Project.

He said that 60,000 trees had been planted at different locations in the state during his tenure.

According to him, the government was committed, through the Lagos State Parks and Gardens (LASPARK), to reducing its carbon footprint, in order to preserve the environment for future generations.

The governor, therefore, urged residents to join hands with the government’s efforts at preserving the environment, by planting trees.

He hailed the Gupta family for the tree planting initiative and urged other residents to join the effort, for more trees to be planted in Lagos State.

Sanwo-Olu, who planted a tree during the event, enjoined residents to use the event as a change in mindset and ideas to preserve the environment for children to have a greater future.

“I want to ask everyone to push and encourage laudable initiatives like this so that we can preserve our Lagos.

“We can preserve a place where we all call home and we can ensure that the future that is in the hands of teenagers, who are here today is secured.

“We should plant more trees to save the environment,” he said.

Gupta had said that her geography class contributed to her interest in Lagos.

She said that the tree planting initiative began on December 17, with the aim of planting 1,000 trees across Lagos before the end of the year.