November 04, (THEWILL) – Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State yesterday said that state decided to join other states in the fray to collect Value Added Tax (VAT) because it was not receiving fair share from the money despite generating huge revenue from the tax
Abiodun stated this when he played host to members of the Institute of Chartered Accountant of Nigeria (ICAN) in his office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, the Ogun State Capital.
He said that his administration decided to take advantage of the VAT controversy with the view to ensure Ogun gets a fair share from the money being generated from the system.
The governor explained that despite the huge revenue being generated from VAT, the state’s share does not reflect what it generates, insisting the state action on the issue was to ensure fairness.
He said “We have joined the fray on the Value Added Tax because we believe that a state like us, which generates huge funds from it, is not getting a fair share of the proceeds. Not only are we producing, we are also a consuming state.”
“We generate so much money, yet, we don’t have a bigger chunk of that same fund that we worked with our sweat and blood to generate”, he added.
Abiodun, also expressed regret that the country is spending so much subsidizing petroleum products, thus wasting funds needed to provide basic amenities which would fast-track development.
He informed the ICAN leadership that his administration was strictly adhering to all the tenets of good governance as it generated the sum of N75bn in the last nine months and was working towards surpassing this next year.
The governor opined that the state has moved 29th to 19the position on the state’s Accountability Index (AI) noting that his desire was to see the state in the first three positions next year.
Earlier, ICAN president, Mrs. Comfort Olu Eyitayo, said that the Institute has made its position known on Value Added Tax (VAT) and the Petroleum Industry Act, adding that the Institute would soon embark on another round of Accountability Index assessment across the country.
Eyitayo, however, acknowledged the exemplary leadership style of the governor, saying that he had impacted positively in the health, education, youth development and other sectors of the state
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