Ondo State Internal Revenue Service, (ODIRS) on Thursday, presented a cheque of twenty million, four hundred and forty Five thousand, seven hundred and eighty four naira (20,445,784.00) land use charge and twenty million, one hundred thousand (22,100,000.00) for radio and television licence revenue to the 18 local government chairmen.
The cheques were presented at the March edition of Joint State Revenue Committee meeting (JSRC) held at the ODIRS hall, Alagbaka, Akure.
The Acting Chairman of ODIRS, Mr Bayo Rojugbokan noted that the JSRC is a meeting between the Ondo State Internal Revenue Service and the 18 Local Government Chairmen in the state with the purpose of harmonizing policies and guidelines to ensure that there is a total plan for the collection of internally generated revenue in the state.
“We are progressing and we are establishing a cooperative tendency towards agile collection in Ondo State. Compared to the previous one, this is better and I know that the Local Government chairmen are happy to collect this cheque because it’s more than what they collected before.
“We will continue to appeal to them. We’re going to display a lot of integrity and sincerity in this effort to make sure that everybody, because I told them earlier in the morning that the Local Government Chairmen alone may not be able to collect all the available revenues within their Local Government.
“So we need this cooperation between the Local Government and the Internal Revenue Service so that we can be able to comb the nooks and crannies of Ondo State to be able to assess our IGRs for collection”.
Speaking on the newly launched platform for revenue collection, Rojugbokan opined that tax collection will be easy for collection. “Tax must be easy for collection anyway and so I-Ondo platform will enable individuals to pay tax as conveniently as possible.
“Everybody can now make their payment without a third party, you do your payment personally and that is more comforting.
“We continue to intensify improvement on the platform I-Ondo to ensure that life is easier for the people of Ondo State.
“This platform will stop leakages, maybe not 100% but it will reduce to the barest minimum issues of leakages in revenue collection. People will not be able to divert the money because you are paying directly to a direct source and a direct destination”, he concluded.
A consultant, Dr Thomson Aiyegunle, delivered an insightful talk on the importance of enhancing budget preparation, financial control, and revenue generation at the local government level.
He emphasised that, with local governments now receiving direct allocations from the federal government, it has become increasingly important for officials to develop the necessary skills to prepare budgets effectively and manage resources efficiently.
“While these allocations provide financial support, internally generated revenue (IGR) must also be strengthened to ensure sustainable development.
“As direct accounting officers, local government officials must continuously enrich their knowledge in financial control and monitoring. Implementing transparent and accountable financial practices is crucial for ensuring effective and efficient service delivery to the people.
“By adopting best practices in budgeting and revenue generation, local governments can maximise their financial resources, meet the growing needs of their communities, and drive socioeconomic development at the grassroots level”,he said.
Reacting, Akure South Local Government Chairman, Dr. Gbenga Fasua, who doubles as the ALGON chairman, Ondo State applauded the management of ODIRS for all they have been doing.
“There is an irrational arrangement, which is 70-30. And today we got for the radio and television over 20 million, as well as the land use charge is over 20 million too. For that, for the entire 18 local governments to be shared.
“Ordinarily, this is the pattern we make, getting to the office, but with the report, we feel it’s commendable, and we appreciate ODIRS for what they are doing.
“Indeed, when it comes to internally generated revenue, it is one couch of a support system to make the local government to be financially stable. Of course, to meet the demands of the people.
“For us, we’re not just starting. We understand this very carefully. And of course, we are doing it within the confines of law. That all our generation’s areas to generate IGR are well known. The one that is, we have a state, local government that are being generated is the one you see”.
He assured the people of the State that internally generated revenue in their time as local government chairmen will increase. “The agro-asset platform, we’re deploying this e-collection to make it better. So that we want to, every methodology that we can use to check leakages is what you put in place.
“And then we will use this medium to sensitize our people to be informed that dues, taxes and rates made for the local government should be paid appropriately”.
