Revenue Drive: Osun Govt Goes Tough On Contractors, Wants Contractors To Fully Comply With State’s Tax Laws

By Kingsley Omoyeni

Supervisor for Finance, Mr Bola Oyebamiji has called on agencies in charge of taxes and levies to appropriately collect what is due to the state in form of taxes from contractors and consultants handling projects for the state in a bid to boost the internally generated revenue.

This is just as he assured pensioners in the state that the present administration is not turning a blind eye to their plight as government recognizes their past service to the state and is doing everything possible to put smiles on their faces.

Mr Oyebamiji who is also in charge of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives stated these during a meeting with heads of agencies under the supervision of the Ministry of Finance held at the government secretariat, Abere.

While calling on heads of agencies under the supervision of the Ministry of Finance to rise up to their responsibilities and assist the present administration in its efforts to give the state the required financial muscle to meet the demands of the masses, Oyebamiji said it is disheartening to discover that some contractors who handled major projects for the state have not been paying taxes due to the state.

He said it is time for all and sundry to begin to own up to their responsibilities and duties so as to be able to find a lasting solution to the challenges facing them as an agency saddled with the responsibility of boosting the revenue of the state.

The Supervisor who stressed the intent of the Adegboyega Oyetola administration to put the state on a sound financial footing explained that the task of moving the state forward will be difficult if agencies under the supervision of the Ministry of Finance fail to wake up to their roles.

He said, “Henceforth, I want us to make it a point of duty to always collect taxes and levies that are due to the state from contractors and consultants handling projects for us in Osun, it is very necessary for the economic growth of our state.

“We should begin to ensure that it is clearly stated in the engagement process of these contractors that certain taxes and levies needs to be deducted from them.

“By doing this, we will be helping our state in boosting our internally generated revenue and we will also be giving life to our chances when international donors like the World Bank and European Union comes calling in our state because they will see for themselves through the records that we are doing the right thing.

“I want us as government officials to begin to do the right thing in a our various agencies, we are all very key to the development of this state. We are in charge of generating funds for our state and ensure that they are well spent. For this reason, we need to be on top of our game at all times.

“We should all be ready to deliver at any point in time, the Ministry of Finance is a reference where we can always consult on how we dealt with previous issues, we need to be able to work together to make life better for masses of our state, that is why we are in our present posotions”. Oyebamiji explained.

Speaking on the issue of payment of pensions, the Supervisor stated that no responsible government will deliberately withhold the monies that are due to pensioners without any reason and refuse to pay them.

He described pensioners as a set of people who should be adequately cared for because they have served the state with the active period of their life, hence the need for the society to attend to their needs.

He said it is unfortunate that things are the way it is for now while giving the assurance that the state government will always have them in mind to do the needful, stressing that government is facing a lot of financial difficulties which has made it impossible to meet up with certain financial obligations.

“Honestly we are not happy with the situation we find ourselves with the pensioners, these are aged people who have served the state well and they deserve the best. But unfortunately we are facing so much financial constraints, we have been struggling to do what we have been doing for both the active and passive workers.

“Our government has so much concern for our pensioners and it will continue in that manner, they are always in our plans because they are the ones who built this state with their sweat”. He stated.

Present at the meeting were: the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Mrs Adebimpe Ogunlumade, Board Secretary, Osun Internal Revenue Service, Mrs Oluwatosin Falomo, Accountant General, Mr Sunday Igbaroola, D.G. Debt Management Office, Mr Tunde Adejumo, SSA on Finance, Dr Wale Tijani, Technical Assistant on TSA, Mr Adetona Adefokun as well as the SLOGOR project manager Mr Yemi Ijidele.