Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo says the state hopes to generate N30bn this quarter and over N100bn as Internally Generated Revenue in 2021, despite the outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The governor said this on Friday evening at a special Iftar (breaking of fast) with members of the House of Representatives, the State House of Assembly, the State Executive Council and the Body of Permanent Secretaries.
The governor said he was committed to putting the state on a sound financial footing through creative means.
Governor Abiodun noted that the state’s IGR dipped in 2020 due to inability of the state to earn from the Pay As You Earn (PAYE), the tax incentives given to industries in the state and the lack of revenue from the education sector.
He, however, disclosed that his administration had raked in N21bn in the first quarter of the year.
He said, “Our Internally Generated Revenue dipped in 2020 and there are some reasons for that – there was no Pay As You Earn (PAYE) for us during the COVID-19 period.
“We gave incentives to industries because they couldn’t work during that period and because we are the education capital of the country, a lot of our IGR was coming from the tertiary institutions and because there were no students in schools, the revenue did not come in.
“Let me tell you what the good news is. The good news is that first quarter of 2021, we already got N21bn. Last year, we did N58bn, so we’ve already got almost half of what we got last year in one quarter. This present quarter, we will do at least N30bn and by the end of this year, by the grace of God, we will do over a N100bn in Ogun State.”
Abiodun added that his administration discovered that Land Use Charge was not being paid in the state and inherited a database of 14,000 people from the previous administration.
He disclosed further that the discovery led his administration to put in place different mechanisms, which according to him, has helped the state to realise a database of Land Use Charge for over 1.5million people, noting “this will translate into a lot for our administration.”
The governor said his administration would soon launch Ogun State Land Administration and Management System {OLAS), saying the system would help residents of the state who had built on government land to come and regularise their papers.
Abiodun said, “We now have a system that we call OLAS, Ogun State Land Administration and Management System. We are still going to launch that and what is that system? That system using ICT, we are going to ensure that all those that have built, we are starting with government owned properties alone. All those that have built on government properties will have to come and regularise their papers.
“We are not talking about those that built on any other land; we are talking of government land alone, so we bring them in to regularise their papers.”
The governor reiterated that his administration would not slash the minimum wage being one of the first to sign the minimum wage into law.
Talking about the forth-coming Local Government elections, Abiodun urged members of the party to put their best candidates forward, arguing that everything that would be done must be in consonance with the principles of democracy.
Speaking on behalf of members of the Federal House of Representatives, Jimoh Ojugbele, representing Ado-Odo/Ota Federal Constituency, lauded the governor for flagging-off the reconstruction of the Atan-Agbara Road, which was neglected for years.
He noted that the governor “is developing all sectors of the state without leaving out any senatorial district,” and expressed the readiness of the House of Reps members from Ogun to rally behind the governor.
Ojugbele also appealed to civil servants in the state to continue to give the governor all the support he required so that the state would continue to move forward.
