By Daud Olatunji
ABEOKUTA—Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, yesterday, advised governors in the 36 states of the federation to reduce the cost of governance in their domains by merging ineffective Ministries, Departments and Agencies with viable ones.
The former president said this
yesterday while welcoming the
Chairman, Joint Tax Board and
Federal Inland Revenue
Service, Dr Babatunde Fowler,
to his Hilltop residence in
Abeokuta.
Obasanjo also said governors should reduce wasteful spending, adding that President and governors should not only reduce costs of governance, but must also show the citizenry what it had been doing with taxes and levies citizens and residents have been remitting to governments.
According to Obasanjo, who had a closed-door meeting with the tax managers across the country, this would be part of measures to make them buoyant, given the current economic downturn in the country.
He said, “When times are hard, that is when the government needs more Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and it is also the time that those from whom the government would want to generate funds are finding it hard to get money.
“What to do then? They must continue to try to increase, as much as possible, what each state can generate in terms of IGR. But states must also embark on a number of things. “One, reducing waste. Two, they have to look into becoming slimmer. Government can do a lot by looking at their own establishments by bringing together institutions that do not have to continue to exist separately.
“And, generally, they must also show that the money they generate and the taxes that the citizens pay are well utilised.
“I think these are some of the things we have to do to get us out of the tight situation that we are all in, and we pray that the tax will roll in sooner than later.”
Responding to Obasanjo’s comments on reduction of government’s spending and revenue generation, Fowler agreed that the taxes collected should be judiciously utilised to the benefits of the people.
ABEOKUTA—Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, yesterday, advised governors in the 36 states of the federation to reduce the cost of governance in their domains by merging ineffective Ministries, Departments and Agencies with viable ones.
The former president said this
yesterday while welcoming the
Chairman, Joint Tax Board and
Federal Inland Revenue
Service, Dr Babatunde Fowler,
to his Hilltop residence in
Abeokuta.
Obasanjo also said governors should reduce wasteful spending, adding that President and governors should not only reduce costs of governance, but must also show the citizenry what it had been doing with taxes and levies citizens and residents have been remitting to governments.
According to Obasanjo, who had a closed-door meeting with the tax managers across the country, this would be part of measures to make them buoyant, given the current economic downturn in the country.
He said, “When times are hard, that is when the government needs more Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and it is also the time that those from whom the government would want to generate funds are finding it hard to get money.
“What to do then? They must continue to try to increase, as much as possible, what each state can generate in terms of IGR. But states must also embark on a number of things. “One, reducing waste. Two, they have to look into becoming slimmer. Government can do a lot by looking at their own establishments by bringing together institutions that do not have to continue to exist separately.
“And, generally, they must also show that the money they generate and the taxes that the citizens pay are well utilised.
“I think these are some of the things we have to do to get us out of the tight situation that we are all in, and we pray that the tax will roll in sooner than later.”
Responding to Obasanjo’s comments on reduction of government’s spending and revenue generation, Fowler agreed that the taxes collected should be judiciously utilised to the benefits of the people.
Comments
Post a Comment