Bayelsa Gets Tax Advisory Team to Boost IGR

September 17, 2020
Tax Advisory Team

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, Mr Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, has been appointed to head the tax advisory committee constituted to boost the internally generated revenue (IGR) of the oil-rich state.

The Commissioner for Information, Orientation and Strategy, Mr Ayiba Duba, announced this on Thursday after the executive council session at the Government House in Yenagoa, the state capital.

Mr Duba, while addressing newsmen after the meeting, said the team has as members the Commissioners for Finance, Justice, Budget, Environment, Trade and Investment, Agriculture, Transportation, the Accountant General of the state, chairman of internal revenue board and three others.

According to him, the state government decided to set up the committee because it could no longer wait for the monthly allocation from the federal government, especially now that the earnings of the central government was threatened by COVID-19 and drop in the prices of crude oil at the global market.

He said the areas the state government was looking to generate more revenue were agriculture and housing.

“The state tax advisory committee, which was constituted with the deputy governor as chairman, has the Commissioners for Finance, Justice, Budget, Environment, Trade and Investment, Agriculture, Transportation, the Accountant General of the state, chairman of internal revenue board and three others to be appointed as members and secretary,” he said.

Also speaking, the Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr David Alagoa, said the state is blessed with fertile land that can be used to grow crops to feed the state.

“When people think of Bayelsa, they do not think agriculture. But we have a lot to offer in agriculture. For instance, we have large expanse of land. We have the longest stretch of coastline in Nigeria and so on.

“In the last three weeks, I have had the opportunity to go round the state and identify a lot of projects. The fish farm in Yenegwe, the fish farm at Angalabiri and the cassava starch factory at Ebedebiri. These are ultramodern projects. These are some of what we intend to do to showcase Bayelsa to the world,” he said.

The Commissioner stated that Bayelsa State will mark the World Food Day on October 16, noting that the state has a lot to showcase in the agriculture sector.

Modupe Gbadeyanka

Modupe Gbadeyanka is a fast-rising journalist with Business Post Nigeria. Her passion for journalism is amazing. She is willing to learn more with a view to becoming one of the best pen-pushers in Nigeria. Her role models are the duo of CNN's Richard Quest and Christiane Amanpour.

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