The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Internally Generated Revenue (IGR)

  • IGR: Kano warns FRSC officers over fake drivers’ license

    IGR: Kano warns FRSC officers over fake drivers’ license

    Kano State Government on Wednesday warned some Officers of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) to desist from issuing fake drivers’ license to motorists so as not to sabotage the efforts of the state government to improve its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).
    Chairman of the Kano State Board of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), Sani Abdulkadir Dambo, who gave the warning at a press briefing, said the security agents have been instructed to henceforth fish out those who issued the fake drivers’ license to motorists, so as to prosecute them.
    Dambo also noted that though it is legally acceptable for Nigerians to purchase plate numbers from any state of their choice across the country, the state government will start clamping down on those motorists who are patronising fake plate numbers from neighbouring states such as Kaduna, Jigawa and Katsina at a cheaper rate. 
    The Chairman, who debunked the rumours making the rounds among tricycle drivers that the government is collecting almost N500 daily tax from them, said the state government will soon launch a unified tax system where motorists are expected to pay just N100 daily to discourage multiple taxation. 
    He advised drivers to always purchase their plate numbers and licenses as well as other IGR payments in their respective Local Government Councils, saying that the performance of each LGA on IGR will determine the sharing method of allocation for developmental projects in their localities.

  • Oil production in Lagos’ll boost Nigeria’s economy

    Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode on Wednesday said that the commencement of crude oil production in the State would in no small measure, enhance the economy of not just the State but the nation in general.

    The Governor, who spoke when he received the Chairman and members of the Indices and Disbursement Committee of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) on a courtesy visit to the Lagos House, Ikeja, said that it was significant for the Nigerian economy that the State has emerged as the first oil producing state outside the Niger Delta basin.

    He described the visit by the committee as remarkable in the annals of the history of Lagos, adding that it signals the official step that takes the State to the final destination that makes us to become an oil producing state.

    “We are very glad to receive this delegation. We also want to thank the Federal Government, most especially President Muhammadu Buhari for making this happen very promptly. I want to say that this has been the quickest action that has been taken by RMAFC since I have known the Commission.

    “I used to be a former Account General so I had a lot of transactions and relationship with the institution called RMAFC. Within a span of about 60 days of when we wrote our letter, and even before we wrote the letter, this technical committee was set up. It gladdens me to say that the institution works and is working for the good of Nigeria,” the Governor said.

    Governor Ambode also commended the members of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and the Boundary Commission, saying that both have contributed immensely to the process of the discovery and production of crude oil in Lagos.

    While alluding to the fact that the feat in Lagos has kick-started the path to diversification of oil production in Nigeria, the Governor urged other states in the federation to begin to activate the mineral deposits in their domain as a means to boost their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).

    “It would also give us revenue independence in a manner that there would be equal growth from all the nooks and corners of Nigeria. I am happy that RMAFC has taken this step and also to say that they should also encourage other states to engage in such activities that would allow them to be able to activate whatever mineral deposit that we have in the various states in conjunction with the Federal Government, so that we can start to diversify revenue and growth and then create a balanced growth and development for the whole country,” Ambode said.

    Earlier, Chairman of the Committee, Alhaji Aliyu Mohammed said they were on a working visit to Lagos to verify crude oil and gas production from Aje Oil Wells for the purpose of disbursement of the 13 per cent Derivation Fund to the State in line with the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    He said the Commission had set-up an Inter-Agency technical Committee comprising of the RMAFC, DPR, Office of the Surveyor General of the Federation and the National Boundary Commission to determine the location of the Aje Oil Wells.

    Mohammed said that the Technical Committee recommended that for the purpose of the Derivation Fund as spelt out under Section 162 (2) of the 1999 constitution as well as the provision of the Allocation of Revenue Act 2004, number 1, 2, 4 and 5 of the Aje Oil Wells fall within 200m isobaths and therefore should be attributed to Lagos State.

    He said as a result, the Commission and members of the Inter-Agency Committee had to embark on the working visit to the Oil Wells to conclude the process.

    He added that the outcome of the visit would promote national unity as well as the socio-economic development of Lagos State and Nigeria.

    “It is also important to state that the commencement of oil production from Aje oil field by Yinka Folawiyo Petroleum Company Limited is the first time oil is being produced outside the Niger Delta basin and therefore of a significance in diversifying the source of crude and gas production in the country,” Mohammed said.

  • AKSU admits 2,340 students, cautions against vices

    AKSU admits 2,340 students, cautions against vices

    The Akwa Ibom State University (AKSU), on Friday, admitted 2,340 students for 2015/2016 academic session and advised them to be security-conscious due to crime increase in the country.

    The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Eno Ibanga, gave the advice during the sixth Matriculation Ceremony at Akpaden, Mkpat Enin Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom.

    He said that a total of 2,340 students were admitted in the 2015/2016 academic session and so far 1,823 were cleared for matriculation.

    He stressed the need for the students to take their personal, group security and wellbeing seriously.

    He further advised the students to manage the opportunity to the best of their abilities and shun acts capable of jeopardising their successful studentship.

    The vice chancellor said “security situation has changed and students should be more security-conscious because cultism is on the increase, religious bigotry is on the increase, politically-inspired violence on the rise.

    “Militancy is on the rise and all kinds of crimes, so new entrants should be aware of these, so that they don’t get involved and become victims.”

    Ibanga said that the institution had put mechanism in place to facilitate good teaching and learning atmosphere for the students.

    He then warned against indecent dressing on campuses of the institution, adding that the university had zero tolerance for any form of misconduct.

    He thanked the state government for providing facilities and resources to enable the institution to achieve its goals.

    The institution, he added, used its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) to ensure that facilities were readily available to students on campus.

    He decried over dependence of students of tertiary institution on social media as it was the tendency today; advising parents to caution their wards in that direction.

    He restated the university’s commitment to be one of the best in the world such that graduates with certificates could be counted as some of the best graduates.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that highlights of the event include the presentation of the maiden copy of the newspaper “AKSU MIRROR’’ by Dr Church Akpan, the Head of Department, Mass Communications to the vice chancellor.

  • Lecturers demand management’s commitment

    Lecturers demand management’s commitment

    Lecturers from the Michael Otedola College of Primary Education (MOCOPED), Noforija in Epe, Lagos State, have vowed to continue their indefinite strike ‎until the management pays half of the outstanding debts it owes them.

    The Union Chairman, Mr Michael Adefuye, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Lagos that the payment would stand as a commitment from the management to the lecturers before the strike could be called off.

    Adefuye said following the declaration of the strike on April 18, the Special Adviser (SA) to Gov. Akinwumi Ambode on Education, had on April 21 invited the union executive for a meeting.

    He said the ‎governor’s aide had appealed to the union leaders to call off the strike as the government had increased the college’s monthly subvention effective from May 2016.

    According to him, the special adviser assured them that when the subvention is increased the management will start paying the outstanding debt monthly until it has cleared all.

    But the chairman insisted that the management must pay half of the outstanding debt, as a commitment before suspending its strike.

    According to him, the union insisted so because the current provost has just three years more to spend with the college.

    He noted that the outstanding debt was 42 months of unremitted pensions to the Pension Fund Administrator (PFA) and must be cleared before the end of the tenure of the present administration.

    “From our calculation, if we agree to the monthly payment of the debt as proposed by the SA, the present management will not finish paying the debt before the expiration of the present provost.

    “That is why we are insisting that half of the debt, which is 21 months be paid, so that the remaining 21 months can be paid before the tenure of the provost lapses,’’ he said.

    He said that the executive would call a congress next week to table the outcome of the meeting with the special adviser.

    ‎NAN reports that the lecturers, under the auspices of the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), MOCPED, Noforija, Epe Chapter, had on April 18, declared an indefinite strike and staged a peaceful protest.

    The union said it declared the strike as a result of the non-implementation of its demands by the college authorities.

    It was demanding for the payment of 42 months’ of un-remitted pensions to the Pension Funds Administrator (PFA) ‎after the state government increased its monthly subvention in 2013.

    It also accused the management of collapsing the degree programmes with Ekiti State University (EKSU), while others such as Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education (AOCOED) and Federal College of Education, Akoka, affiliates were flourishing.

    ‎According to the union, the present administration lacks transparency in the financial administration of the college’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), TETFUND and subvention, among other complains and demands‎.