The Nation Newspaper

Tag: IGR

  • ‘Economy too fragile to support VAT, IGR increase’

    ‘Economy too fragile to support VAT, IGR increase’

    The economy is unproductive and can’t support raising internally generated revenue (IGR) or increasing value added tax (VAT), a public affairs analyst, Obiora Akabogu, has said.

    He said raising IGR and VAT to cushion the effects of the cash crunch that gripped federal and state governments following the continued slide in oil prices would not work because Nigerian masses are already impoverished by the economy’s unproductiveness.

    “VAT is derived from a productive, but an economy that is near comatose makes it difficult for federal and state governments to raise money by increasing IGR and VAT, because the masses are impoverished,” he said, adding that “Nigeria is operating a mono-cultural and precarious economy, which is dependent on one major revenue source, which is oil.”

    The exepert was reacting to a recommendation by the Managing Director, International Monetary Fund (IMF), Ms. Christine Lagarde, who, during her recent visit to Nigeria, advocated the broadening of the country’s revenue base by increasing the VAT paid for goods and services.

    According to the IMF chief, Nigeria’s VAT rate was not only among the lowest in the world, but also well below VAT rates in other countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a recommendation that appears to enjoy the support of the Senate, the upper chamber of the National Assembly.

    Senators had during the second day of debate of the  principles of the 2016 budget of N6.08 trillion, last week called for heavy taxation of Nigerians to make up for the shortfalls that may arise in the projected revenues.

    One of the projected revenues in the budget already crashing is the N820 billion oil revenue that is at a deficit of N395 billion, following the drop in oil price to $27 per barrel as against $38 per barrel benchmark in the budget.

    Senators argued that instead of relying heavily on borrowing to implement the budget, which goes by average of N500million daily, heavy taxation is a better option. Senate Chief Whip, Olusola Adeyeye (APC Osun Central), who led the debate, said without spreading the dragnet of taxation, there would be no money to fund the budget, especially in the face of dwindling oil revenues.

  • Plateau plans technology centres’ revival to create jobs, boost IGR

    The Plateau State Government will revive technology centres to enhance technology-related entrepreneurship skills to create jobs and boost Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), the  Deputy Governor, Prof. Sonni Tyoden, has said.

    He spoke on Tuesday when he inspected the Relevant Technology Centre and the Science Equipment Production Centre, both in Jos, the Plateau State capital.

    He said the visit was predicated on government’s resolve to rehabilitate the centres because of their potential to create skilled manpower that would be on their own and also employ others.

    “It is disheartening that centres like the Relevant Technology Centre and the Science Equipment Production Centre both in Jos with all the benefits that could accrue to the state have been allowed to go down.

    “One of the focal areas of this administration as we have always stated is industrialisation and entrepreneurship and we will definitely reactivate the centres. Government will give the centres the necessary support, including funding and recruitment of staff to enable them to operate optimally and contribute their quota to the economy of the state,” he said.

    Tyoden said the state needed to do this now that the mainstay of the economy has taken a downward turn. “We will use these kind of places to diversify the economy of Plateau and boost the state’s IGR,” he said.

    The deputy governor, who is also the Commissioner for Higher Education, Science and Technology, said the state government is determined to engage its teeming youths meaningfully.

    Earlier, Mr. Simon Bonnap, the Executive Secretary, Relevant Technology Centre Jos, had told the deputy governor that the Centre could generate the needed revenue for the state if resuscitated.

    Bonnap said: “The Centre trains able and disabled youths in leather works, welding and fabrication, electrical works, home economics, automobile, as well as building. We have fabricated a motorised tricycle for disabled persons that can be used both as tricycle or wheel chair.”

    He, however, regretted that the state does not have the funds to mass produce the motorised tricycle in commercial quantity that can be sold to hospitals and persons that need them.

    According to him, the centre was established in 1974 by a Netherlands-based Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) to teach youths different skills to enable them to be self-reliant and also employ others.

    He decried the neglect of the centre, pointing out that machines that were installed by the NGO in 1974 were still the ones being used at the centre in spite of the takeover of the centre by the state government in the 1990s.

    Bonnap told Tyoden that “the centre does not have a functional project vehicle to aid its movement and supervision of its other centres in six different local governments of the state.

    “We used to have over 200 staff, but now we only have 62; the equipment we have are obsolete and funds to even run the centre properly are not available,” he said.

    The Chief Production Officer, Science Equipment Production Centre, Jos, Mr. Obed Dimka, also decried the neglect of the centre which was established in 1986.

    Dimka said the centre could produce almost all the science equipment for secondary schools in the state but the staff to carry out the task is not available.

    “We have only two skilled staff and six unskilled staff. Incidentally we have the raw materials, but there is no staff to make use of them,” he said.

  • Osun to improve IGR through land use charge

    Osun to improve IGR through land use charge

    The Osun State House of Assembly yesterday organised a public hearing on Land Use Charge Bill which is targeted at improving the Internally Generated Revenue of the state.

    Speaking at the event witnessed by the Deputy Governor Grace Titi Laoye-Tomori, the Chief of Staff to the governor, Gboyega Oyetola, the Speaker, Najeem Salaam, said the bill will ensure that payment of all property and land-based rates in the state is enforced.

    Also in attendance were traditional rulers, including the Akirun of Ikirun, the Ataoja of Osogbo, the Aragbiji of Iragbiji, the Olobu of Ilobu, the Oloyan of Oyan, the Elerin of Erin-Osun, among others.

    According to Salaam, the bill would also address charges payable under the land rate law, the neighbourhood improvement charge law as well as tenement rates law.

    The Speaker said the bill had undergone second reading “if passed it would improve the state’s revenue of the state, especially now that government is going the whole hog to boost the state’s revenue”. Salaam lamented that the revenue presently accruable to the state was not enough for developmental projects.

     

  • Council boosts IGR

    The Chairman of Owan East Local Government Area of Edo State, Mr. Jimoh Ijegbai has explained how he increased the council’s internally-generated revenue (IGR) from N200,000 monthly to N16 million.

    Addressing reporters during the inauguration of water projects at Arokho and Imakhu communities in the area, Mr. Ijegbai said he performed the feat by looking at areas where the local government has comparative advantage.

    Mr. Ijegbai noted that he pledged not to rely solely on federal allocation to develop the council when he assumed office in 2013.

    The council chief said he realised that “oil will not last forever” and therefore decided to go into commercial sale of petroleum products as well as remodeling of its transport system.

    He said: “The first thing we did when we assumed office was to look inward in order to boost our IGR and this has paid off greatly.

    “At present, we have one of the most efficient transport systems among local governments in Nigeria. Within two years, we have increased our fleet of buses from the eight we met on ground to 24. These buses are plying various routes in the country.

    “Again, we decided to go into commercial sale of fuel. We are into selling of petroleum products in the local government as a commercial entity.

    “We know that oil will not last forever. When we started noticing the signs that things were going bad, we decided to identify where we have comparative advantage and we took advantage of it and it is the secret behind the success we are witnessing today.”

    “It will surprise you that we are not only initiating projects, we are executing as well as inaugurating projects because, we foresaw this financial crunch that has affected most states and council areas of the country.”

  • Council explores means of boosting IGR

    The Executive Secretary of Amuwo-Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos State, Deaconess Modupe Ajibola-Ojodu has urged local governments to concentrate more on enhancing their internally-generated revenue (IGR).

    She spoke during this year’s local government budget appraisal retreat preparatory to planning the council’s budget for next year. The retreat held at the Jata Events and Resorts Lagos.

    Deaconess Ajibola-Ojodu noted “we are gathered here to critically reflect on our past performances, X-ray our present position, and realistically project our future.”

    She hinted that this year’s budget performance is not too encouraging, even as she urged the revenue collectors of the local government to look inwards and improve on the dwindling IGR.

    “Everybody needs to pay their taxes and rates. It is mandatory. We will use all legal means to collect our revenues from defaulters. We will also use massive public enlightenment on revenue generation”, she said.

    The Director of Planning, Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs, Mr. Hakeem Balogun advised the local government to adopt pro-active strategy to push up the IGR of the local government, so that the people will feel the dividends of democracy.

    Meanwhile, the Head of Administration of the local government, Alhaji Shakiru Omotayo noted that government cannot perform its constitutional role, and the desired dividends of democracy cannot be achieved, if we negate the payment of rates and levies as enshrined in our constitution.

    He, therefore, appealed to defaulters to assist the government in realising its set goals and objectives for the citizens.

     

  • Aregbesola inaugurates panel on IGR, salaries

    Aregbesola inaugurates panel on IGR, salaries

    Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola has inaugurated a 17-man committee to oversee government revenue and its application to the payment of workers’ salary arrears.

    Speaking at the weekend inauguration of the committee, headed by former Secretary-General of the Organisation of the African Trade Unions (OATU), Hassan Sunmonu , the governor reiterated his administration’s commitment to workers’ welfare.

    The committee is made up of government officials and labour leaders, including Chief of Staff to the governor   Gboyega Oyetola, former Commissioner for Information and Strategy Sunday Akere, Chairman of the state chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Jacob Adekomi.

    Others are Bayo Jimoh, Bola Oyebamiji, Bayo Adejumo, Rufus Adeyemi, Comrade Wakil Amuda, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Idowu, Gbenga Oyebode, Akeem Ibrahim and Y. A. Afolabi.

    Aregbesola said the committee was inaugurated to ensure that the apportionment of net revenue accruing from federation accounts and Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) to government coffers is sufficient for payment of workers’ salaries, pensions and other critical expenditures.

    The governor, in his speech, titled: “We Are in Extra-Ordinary Time”, noted that the state of the nation was not ordinary.

    Aregbesola, who noted that Osun was the first to alert the public of the impending financial crisis, said no government has ever attempted the inauguration of such committee in the country.

    He added that Osun was also the first state to form a committee to assess and evaluate the accrued revenue from all sources.

    The governor said the government and its workers agreed on how to spend the fund.

    He said: “As we are all aware, the financial tsunami that entered global lexical in 2008 and swept throughout the federation, beginning from July 2013.

    “This, however, crippled the finances of the states and Federal Government, though some people did not believe this, as the traducers attributed our economic crisis in the state to financial recklessness.

    “This scenario of financial crisis made the payment of workers’ salaries difficult, but what some people do not realise was that the financial crisis which ravaged the country led the former minister of finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to announce that the Federal Government  borrowed N476 billion to pay workers.”

    The governor decried the report that the state collected and fixed the bailout funds to accumulate interest.

    “Our traducers announced two weeks before the CBN publicly announced the release of the bailout funds to the state that we have collected and fixed the loan.

    “Well, we thank God that our political enemies did not succeed because our people are wise enough to justify all the circumstances and arrive at the truth,” he said.

    Sumonu pledged to do the work assigned to the committee without any rancour.

    He promised that the welfare of the people would be prioritised and urged  workers to remain focused.

  • Ondo moves to raise IGR

    Ondo State government has said it is putting up initiatives to shore up its Internally-Generated Revenue (IGR), following the declining federal allocation to states.

    The Commissioner for Information, Mr. Kayode Akinmade, said the reality of the unfavourable economic climate, which resulted in the sharp drop in revenue from oil, being the main source of revenue for the country, made it imperative for the government to look inward and ensure its IGR was improved upon.

    He said government embarked on a subtle sensitisation process to enlighten residents on the need to pay tax.

    “We are paying attention to areas other than the federal allocation to generate revenue. We are bringing more people into the tax net.

    “The Land Use Charge, for instance, is one area. Economic value on land will make more money. We are also re-organising our board of Internal Revenue, not by reducing the workers, but by re-tooling and ensuring they are up-to-date and that they get enough training to cope with the present reality.”

    Appealing to the people to pay their tax promptly, the commissioner said it is what they pay that the government will use to work for them.

  • Osun Speaker urges local councils to improve IGR

    Osun Speaker urges local councils to improve IGR

    The Speaker of Osun House of Assembly, Mr Najeem Salaam, has urged the 30 local governments in the state to increase their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).

    This is contained in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Goke Butika, and made available to newsmen in Osogbo on Thursday.

    He said the local governments should not continue to depend on allocations from the Federation Account to finance their operations.

    Salaam also advised the Local Government Service Commission and the Ministry of Local Government to, as a matter of urgency,
    fashion out ways through which the councils could improve their finances.

    Salaam said the Assembly, through its standing Committee on Local Government Affairs, would also monitor the councils.

    He advised each council to develop its agricultural potential so as to generate revenue for the development of the area.

  • Anambra woos advertisers to increase IGR

    Anambra woos advertisers to increase IGR

    Anambra State Government has agreed to partner the Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria (OAAN) to increase its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).

    The partnership may have started yielding fruit, as the body has urged the state government to route all the outdoor advertisements through the Anambra Signage and Advertising Agency (ANSA) headed by Sir Jude Emecheta.

    The visitors who were  national leaders of the organisation, among whom Tunde Adedoyin (President) and Femi Ogala (Secretary), visited Governor Willie Obiano.

    The governor’s representative, the state Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Dr Mrs Uju Nwogu received them.

    Adedoyin raised the alarm that quacks and street urchins were imposing themselves on the state to defraud the government, adding that such should not be allowed.

    He said that such elements harass and intimidate the ANSA officials in various Communities, by charging them money in the name of space.

    Adedoyin maintained that through the intervention of (OAAN) in some States including Lagos, the IGR of such states were increased, adding that all out door advertisments should go through the authorised body in the state which was (ANSA).

    Responding, the state Commissioner for information, culture and Tourism, Dr mrs Uju Nwogu, promised that all the decisions taken by (OAAN) would be implemented by the Obiano administration to boast its (IGR).

    She stated that the meeting had been the opportunity the state had been waiting for a longtime, adding that the state government would partner with (OAAN) through (ANSA) in the State to make the dream of the state a reality.

    Also, ANSA through its managing Director, Sir Jude Emecheta said they were bound to succeed with the assistance of (OAAN).

     

  • Ahmed: IGR drive ‘ll boost growth

    Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed has said his administration’s revenue drive would generate funds for developmental projects, stimulate the economy and create jobs.

    Speaking at an interactive session with community leaders in his office, the governor said his administration planned to create new infrastructural projects to promote the welfare of the people, stimulate commerce and attract investments that would create a conducive economic environment for job creation.

    He stressed the need to grow internal revenue and place less emphasis on federally-allocated revenue, which he noted, had dropped and was unlikely to return to the previous level in future.