Modupe Gbadeyanka
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
An eight-man panel saddled with the responsibility of overseeing the process of collecting Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) in Edo State has been inaugurated by Governor Godwin Obaseki.
The IGR committee is headed by the Deputy Governor of the state, Mr Philip Shaibu, and his team has been asked to take a minimum of N2 billion monthly.
Speaking at the inauguration of the committee on Wednesday, Mr Obaseki said the target was realistic given the internal analysis of revenue projections in the state.
“Each of you understands the rudiments of tax collection. This is the last month our revenue should be less than N2 billion; it shouldn’t happen again. From our own internal analysis, we should be at N3 billion now, all the indicators are there to prove this,” the Governor said.
According to him, an enumeration exercise was conducted with over 30,000 businesses captured in Oredo, Ikpoba-Okha and Egor. “We have technology partners and vendors who have made commitments and investments believing we should have a roll out soon. With this committee in place, the roll out is possible,” he said.
“In January 2020, we would not accept any revenue in any month below N2 billion. I need your recommendation on whatever investment to be made as we will source for resources and take advantage of the economic growth we have created in Edo State, knowing that economic activities have increased,” he added.
Governor Obaseki also stated that a lot of investments have been put into revenue collection and administration process in Edo State, adding that the committee would work on getting more citizens to contribute to the efforts of developing the state.
“What we need now is practical action to look at each revenue sub head and series of action and steps as well as resources required to collect the revenue under those sub-heads. Your mission is to review the tax laws and processes,” Mr Obaseki stated.
He said the Commissioner for Local Government and Community Affairs was added to the committee to ensure a seamless integration between local government and state revenue sources to guide against double and multiple taxation.
Chairman of the Committee, Mr Shaibu, thanked his boss for the confidence reposed in the members of the committee.
“We feel the pinch when there is shortfall in the finance. We want to assure you that we will deliver as we would supervise the process to attain the target given to us,” he said.
Other members of the committee include Secretary to the State Government, Osarodion Ogie; Head of Service (HoS), Mr Isaac Ehiozuwa; Commissioner for Infrastructure, Mr John Inegbedion; Commissioner for Finance, Mr Joseph Eboigbe; Commissioner for Local Government and Community Affairs, Mr Osaigbovo Monday and Commissioner for Environment and Sustainability, Mrs Omua Oni-Okpako.
Others are Executive Chairman, Edo State Internal Revenue Service (EIRS), Igbinidu Inneh; Managing Director, Edo Geographical Information Service (EdoGIS) Mr Francis Evbuomwan while the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Budget and Planning, V.A Obadan is the Secretary of the committee.
