Thursday 2 March 2017

EDO: OBASEKI SIGNS HARMONIZE REVENUE COLLECTION BILL INTO LAW

From Right: Edo State Deputy Governor Philip Shaibu, Governor Obaseki, Speaker, House of Assembly, Dr. Justin Okonoboh and Majority Leader, Mr. Ogedengbe
The proposed bill to harmonize revenue collection by the various local government areas in Edo State has been signed into law by Edo State Governor Mr. Godwin Obaseki.
Governor Godwin Obaseki expressed delight in the quick passage of the bill thanking the State House of Assembly for their commitment to the reforms by his administration.

“I want to thank the speaker and the honorable members of the Edo State House of Assembly for once again demonstrating their commitment to the reforms that this government has committed to pursue. Mr. Speaker, less than a month ago, we submitted a draft bill to harmonize the rate and levies collection by local government councils in the state. The action was in pursuance of my new year’s day broadcast where we prohibited none state actors from collecting government revenue” He said.
Governor Obaseki added it was discovered that the levies and taxes collected especially in local government councils were not uniformed as such this bill was introduced. “We thought before re-introducing collection of taxes in the local government councils, we needed to have the enabling law to back such collections. We needed to have harmony and uniformity in this taxes and levies.
He said while waiting for the approval of the bill, the government put in place machinery for the implementation of the bill.
Obaseki said his administration has put in place a technology which is not cash-based which will make the system efficiency in the collections of this revenue. He said his administration will ensure that all taxes and revenue paid by Edo people are captured and deposited in the treasury of the Edo State Government.
To ensure transparency, Obaseki said he has instructed that a separate schedule be presented where each local government will announce the taxes collected in each month and how it will be applied. He said this is necessary for the citizens to see how transparent this administration is in collection and usage of the revenue collected from the people.
Earlier, the Speaker Edo State House of Assembly, Justin Okonobo who led some members of the house and head of some local government administration said the house considered every aspect of the bill before it was passed by members of the house.

REPORT BY KINGSLEY UCHEGBU

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