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B N W: Biafra Nigeria World News |
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Ondo's revenue rises by 75 per cent in six months
A 75 per cent increase in Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) has been recorded by the Ondo State government between January and July this year.
The state Commissioner for Finance and Economic Planning, Chief Tayo Alasoadura, who made this disclosure at the weekend in Akure, the state capital, attributed the increase to the restructuring exercise carried out at the State Board of Internal Revenue by the Olusegun Agagu administration.
In his speech while declaring open a two-day workshop on Effective Tax Administration organised by his ministry for officials of the Board, Alasoadura said he inherited "a Board of Internal Revenue characterised by inefficiency, corruption, incompetent and unqualified personnel."
He added: "It, therefore, became imperative for the state government to carry out a comprehensive restructuring of the organisation to make it more responsive to the aspirations of this administration.
"Available data on the board show a systematic and alarming decline in revenue generation between 2001 and 2003. Former members of staff found culpable of one malpractice or the other were dealt with in accordance with the Civil Service Rules and Regulations and those found guilty had their services dispensed with."
Various steps, according to him, were taken to sanitise the system, including "re-invigoration of the board through adequate funding, provision of office equipment and necessary logistic supports".
He added: "There is no gainsaying the fact that the restructuring exercise has started to yield the desired result as evidenced by our experience as at July 2004. A total sum of N797.7 million was generated as against N495.7 million realised by the board during the corresponding period in 2003."
The commissioner, however, stated that a lot of work still needed to be done because "more funds are needed by the government that is committed to the fulfilment of its promises to the good people of the state."
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