Edo State has taken steps to raise internally generated revenue (IGR), inspired by the report that Lagos now makes N23 billion IGR monthly.
IGR in Edo has been dwindling for months.
Governor Adams Oshiomhole said at the inauguration of the Edo State Internal Revenue Service Board (ESIRSB) in Benin City that there is need to build strong institutions rather than strong individuals if the country is to make progress.
The whole idea of the ESIRSB, he explained, is to create an institution that will not be bogged down by the usual civil service bureaucracy.
“We do need to be able to collect taxes and to collect efficiently and to ensure that taxes collected are all reflected in the accounts of the government.
“The taxes we collect have even reduced and yet the government is still working on projects in various areas. The federal government immediately after the elections abandoned their projects.
“We will not deceive our people at the eve of election. For us service is the basis why we are in government and we must sustain it.”
Achievements
Oshiomhole said the government has made modest achievements as a “result of meticulous planning, but also a determination to do things differently. The basis for the last election campaign was change.
“We have changed not just the president, we have changed the way Nigeria is governed, and we have changed the way Edo State is governed. So these reforms are an attempt to make these changes a reality.”
“Today I am proud to say to our people that we are one of the few states, maybe not up to 10 or 15 states across the country that is able to pay salaries as at when due. As the economy deteriorates further the challenge will become even tougher and as they say tough times don’t last, tough people do.”
“Rather than we lamenting, we rather take extraordinarily steps to ensure that we succeed.
“We cannot influence international oil prices. That is beyond us. We cannot even influence how much we sell; that is in the hands of the federal government, but we can influence what we do to ensure that those who are taxable under our laws, that is the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, pay tax and when they do pay the money is kept in government coffers.
Asking questions
“That way, the tax payers will be empowered to ask questions on how their money is spent.
“That is why you find that across the schools we are building, the roads we are constructing, our erosion control, our urban renewal, everything we are doing we try to put the sign board. This is tax payer’s money it is not the governor’s personal good will.
“It is the outcome of the taxes that the people pay. That people can connect the progress they see with the contribution they are making. They have a sense of ownership of the projects that are going on. We want people to live in Edo State, stronger, better, and with more institutions.
“The governor will be there for you but not be able to dictate to institutions what to do or not to do, believing that the institutions themselves have the enabling law that directs your actions.
Autonomous body
“Our hope is that at the end of the day the Internal Revenue Service, just like the ICT, will be an autonomous body.”
Oshiomhole promised that reform will not lead to job losses, “it is just that we cannot continue to run the country the way it has been and certainly we cannot run Edo State the way it has been.”
ESIRSB Chairman, Oseni Elamah, who responded on behalf of all the members, said Oshiomhole’s administration has built institutions that will remain as legacies, including a professionally autonomous revenue service.
Other members of the ESIRSB include Emmanuel Usoh, John Obazee, Felix Isoku, Vera Obadan, Samuel Akpata, Mike Iyekekpolor, and Julius Aihie.
Others are Ambrose Eberenkhae, Charles Eralamen, David Ehidiamen, Victor Okugbe, Anthony Okungbowa, and Kingsley Odagbe.