Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole has declared that his successor must be able to sustain and deepen the tax collection and administration regime if he must deliver on people oriented programmes and policies. The governor made the remark while delivering lecture with the theme, “Dwindling Revenue from Crude Oil: The Challenges for State Governments” at the maiden lecture of the Correspondents Chapel of the Edo State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ). Oshiomhole who noted that there is no other better way to generating revenue apart from taxes disclosed that not more than 160,000 persons out of over 4 million populations in the state pay taxes.
The governor who gave graphic accounts on the state of internally generated revenue before his assumption of office posited that even the state civil servants right from the Head of Service (HOS) down to the least officers as well as the state lawmakers were not paying their taxes.
According to him, the next government after me should be able to widen and deepen the tax collection regime to be able to deliver on its services to the people of the state. Delivery on services entails the availability of funds and the government should expand the scope of revenue generations in the midst of dwindling oil prices to be able to succeed.
“Government must broaden the tax net and its administration to ensure that the taxable people in the state are all captured in the tax generation process. “If oil prices become zero, Edo as a state has to survive and the challenges are that we must put on the thinking cap to be able to navigate from the oil prices doldrums”, he said. The governor who was accompanied by his wife, Iara, opined that the primary purpose of government was not to pay salaries and employment generation alone but to deliver on socio-economic service.
He noted that delivery of people oriented programmes and policies will generate jobs and create enabling environment for investors to thrive.
He assured that the state government will collect taxes from the rich to service the poor. “We will pursue taxes legitimately from those who can afford it and we will use the money judiciously to address the infrastructural needs of our people”, he stated.
He further assured that government must demonstrate a high sense of responsibility and integrity in how it appropriate funds and how the funds are being appropriated for the good of all and sundry in the state.
“For us to get our people to pay taxes our government must demonstrate a high sense of responsibility and integrity in how we appropriate funds and what we appropriate the fund for”, he added.
In his remark, the Chairman Nigeria Union of Journalists, Edo State Council, Comrade Roland Osakue, who lauded Governor Oshiomhole in the developmental achievements in the State, urged participants to utilize the advantage of the governor’s presentation to be well-informed about governance in the face of economic challenges.
Also, the former two-time governor of the defunct Bendel State, Dr. Samuel Ogbemudia appealed to all hands to be on deck in the quest for survival and the state must lead the way.
Earlier, Chairman of the Correspondents Chapel, Simon Ebegbulem noted that the public lecture won’t have come at a better time than now that the nation is facing serious economic challenges from the country’s monolithic economy.
He contended that the monolithic economy has put severe burden on state governments which has long depended on the federal government’s allocations before paying salaries and discharging other governmental responsibilities.
The lecture later went into interactive session.