Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State has appealed to taxable people of the state to pay their taxes in order for the government to continue its numerous projects in the state.
The governor made the appeal on Tuesday, November 3, 2015, during a Public Hearing on the Land Use Charge bill organised by the Osun State House of Assembly.
According to Governor Aregbesola, who was represented by his deputy, Mrs Grace Laoye Tomori, “it is a must to pay tax, so. I urge the people of Osun State to pay their tax.”
Aregbesola noted that the dwindling allocation from the Federal Government of Nigeria has forced the state government to look inward with the aim of generating fund to cushion the effect of the economic nosedive.
Governor Aregbesola said that his government was looking into tourism, mineral resources and taxation to generate revenue to the state coffers, assuring the people that their taxes would be used to make the state the best in the country.
He said: “We run a transparent governance in Osun and I can tell you that the national revenue has fallen beyond what we can describe. They are no longer demanding for our oil in the international market and that is why we need to look inward to see how we can generate revenue to enable us continue the numerous projects we have embarked upon.
“I want to appreciate the Osun State House of Assembly for inviting the town and gown to the Public hearing on the Land Use Charge bill. This bill, when passed into law will help in generating revenue for the state.
“I therefore want to urge professionals like Town Planners, Land Surveyors, Estate Managers and Valuers other people that would work for the success of the bill to cooperate.”
DAILY INDEPENDENT

The Chairman of OSAMDO,  Dr. Isiaka Adekunle, and the Chairman, House Committee on Information and Strategy, Mr.  Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, said the discussion between the union and the lawmakers  was a very fruitful one.

The Osun State Government has sent a Land Use Charge bill to the state House of Assembly for passage into law.
The Deputy Governor of the state, Mrs. Titi Laoye-Tomori, said at the public hearing session organised by the House of Assembly on the bill on Tuesday, that the state government decided to introduce the law to make property owners pay certain amount of levy on their property.
The deputy governor said the state needed to look inwards to boost its Internally Generated Revenue to augment its federal allocation.
“ Oil price has been hovering at fourty-something dollars per barrel for quite a while now. People are not buying oil again despite that we are approaching winter when the price is supposed to be high but the price is still low.
“Apart from the land use charge, taxation is another one. Tax is what we use to transform the state,” she said.
The deputy governor added that the state government was also looking into mineral resources and tourist sites in the state to generate more revenue for its development.
The Speaker of the House of Assembly, Mr. Najeem Salaam, said the bill would assist in increasing the IGR of the state if it was passed into law.
The Speaker said the lawmakers organised the public bearing to give the people of the state the opportunity to have inputs into the law-making process.
He said now that the revenue accruable to the state could no longer sustain the desired development, there was the need to look inwards to be able to generate more revenue.
The representative of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers, Dr. Bioye Tajudeen, said the proposed law was good but the government should consider the high level of poverty in the state.
Tajudeen said, “The Land Use Charge Bill proposes formula to determine the annual charge rate. We, the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers in Osun State, however, recommend the use of valuation list to determine the annual charge rate.
“ A valuation list prepared by the registered estate surveyors   and valuers should serve as a basis for determining the land use charge in this state and should be reviewed and updated every calendar year.”
He said the bill should exempt places of worship from paying rates but schools and other business interests owned by religious organisations should be made to pay rates.
 

Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun state has appealed to taxable adults in the state to pay their taxes to assist government to continue with numerous projects it has embarked upon in the state.
The governor gave the appeal yesterday during a Public Hearing on the Land Use Charge bill organized by the State House of Assembly.
According to Governor Aregbesola who was represented by his deputy, Mrs Grace Laoye Tomori, it is   the civic responsibility of citizens to pay tax to assist government to execute projects that will impact positively on them.
Aregbesola noted that the dwindling allocation from the Federal allocation has forced the state government to look inward with the aim of generating fund to cushion the effect of the dwindling   economic situation.
He said his government was looking into tourism, mineral resources and taxation to generate revenue   to the state coffers assuring the people that their taxes would be used to make the state the best in the country.
His words: “we run transparent governance in Osun and I can tell you that the national revenue has fallen beyond what we can describe. They are no longer demanding for our oil in the international market and that is why we need to look inward to see how we can generate revenue to enable us continue the numerous projects we have embarked upon.
Speaking earlier, the Speaker, Osun State House of Assembly, Hon. Najeem Salam noted that the beauty of democracy is the opportunity the public have to contribute to how they are governed.
Apparently disturbed by the diversity in the memoranda submitted by concerned professionals the   Speaker sued for understanding saying that the essence of the public hearing was to enable professional bodies contribute in the legislation process.

Osun State has been in the eye of the storm of recent, no thanks to the orchestrated attempt by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), working in concert with a renegade section of the media, to make the state the poster boy of the cash crunch that has now engulfed 27 states and the Federal Government, if President Muhammadu Buhari’s statement last week that ‘Nigeria is broke’ is anything to go by.

There was a failed bid by the opposition PDP to stampede Governor Rauf Aregbesola out of office. This began in August with sponsored demonstrations and a phantom petition to the State House of Assembly to impeach the governor.

The petition was dismissed for lacking in merit and the sword has since been turned on the petitioner in a case of the hunter now being the hunted.

The backlog of the salaries are being cleared even as the government and the labour unions come to new rapprochement on dealing with paucity of funds in a way that available funds will be judiciously used to accommodate wages, running the government and undertaking projects that will benefit the majority of the people. All the labour unions that have been on strike have since resumed work. Even the intransigent academic staff of tertiary institutions in the state have since yielded to reason and called off their strike last week.

Then the good news started to tumble in. On Tuesday October 13, the Bank of Industry (BOI) commissioned a 24kw micro-grid solar solution in Idi-Ita/Onibambu community in Ife North Local Government of Osun State. The N44million rural electrification project being financed by the bank in conjunction with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), would supply power to over 200 homes not connected to national grid.

Then on October 18, the State Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the French Government to build a 35million Euros (N8 billion) 13 megawatts solar plant in the state. A French company, Vergnet, will build the solar plant in Osun. What is unique about this project, according to Vergnet, is that it will involve technology transfer. Locals will be trained to man and operate the plant and will also be the nodal point for the building of solar power stations across the country and beyond.

The biggest of all perhaps is the MOU signed with a Chinese company, Geo Engineering Construction Alliance Team. The company will undertake in Osun a broad range of economic development programmes that coveragro industrial park, export processing, hydro power, dry port associated enterprise park and water supply and road projects among others.

These will create wealth and generate thousands of jobs. The Chinese deal alone should generate direct 10,000 jobs and 50,000 indirectly. This indeed is good news which should bring smiles to the faces of the people of the state and affirm the legitimacy of the governor who has bravely and adroitly weathered the storm.

Mike Ogundele,
Osogbo, Osun State

Following the dwindling revenue allocation from the federation account to Osun State Government, the State House of Assembly yesterday held a public hearing on the Land Use Charge bill with an assurance to maintain a level playing field for professionals involved in the bill that would soon be passed to law.
The Speaker of the house, Hon. Najeem Salaam, apparently speaking on memoranda submitted by concerned professionals in the bill sued for understanding saying that the essence of the public hearing was to enable professional bodies and the people of the state make their contributions in the legislation process.
Professional bodies like Nigeria Institution of Surveyors and Valuers, Nigeria Institute of Town Planners and Architects while presenting their memoranda in response to the bill expressed diverse views and concerns on the bill.
Speaking on behalf of the Ministry of Land, Physical Planning and Urban Development in the state, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Wale Ojo said cemetery, burial grounds, churches, palaces, retirees, pensioners, old people and other non-governmental organisations that are non-profit oriented should be exempted from paying any charge.
But the Nigerian Institution of Surveyors and Valuers said religious bodies that own schools and other institutions that are profit oriented should be taxed.
Speaking on behalf of the body, Prof. Bioye Tajudeen advised the House of Assembly to re-visit the bill with the aim of involving the services of professionals that would bring a turn around to the state’s economy.
The public hearing held at the premises of the Osun state house of Assembly in Osogbo also had in attendance traditional rulers, market men and women, artisans, landlords, lawyers among others.
Governor Rauf Aregbesola in his speech appealed to taxable people of the state to pay their taxes in order for the government to continue numerous projects it has embarked upon in the state.

Speaker, State of Osun House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Najeem Salaam has admonished religious leaders to preach godliness instead of unhealthy competition of religion, saying while the former draws people to morality of religion, the latter brews violence.
Speaking at a programme organized by Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Ejigbo chapter,  where he was a recipient of an award, Speaker Salaam observed that the politics of religion nowadays has proved unhealthy because pecuniary interest appeared to have overtaken the fundamental, which touches on the relation of man with his Creator.
Speaker Salaam then tasked all religious leaders to close rank irrespective of their religious leaning and forge a common ground against agents of violence, destruction and those who exploit people in the name of God, saying that was the duty that must be done in order to make the world a better place.
In a related development, Speaker Salaam then enjoined all elected and appointed politicians to work with genuine religious leaders in their respective constituencies with a view to fostering a secured and morally upright society.
However, he decried some sects which were advocating violence and wicked discrimination among the countrymen in the name of religion, saying the Creator of the Universe was capable of decreeing one faith if HE so desire, noting that having different faith was a design of God.

Osun State House of Assembly has warned that it would not hesitate to impose sanctions on any personnel in the health sector found to be sabotaging the efforts of government.
Chairman, House Committee on Health, Honourable Leke Ogunsola, stated this at the inaugural meeting of his committee, saying, “the system in the health sector will no longer be business as usual.”
He said the assembly would not witchhunt anybody in the course of performing its oversight function, but would ensure that things were done properly.
According to him, the house would go all out and do everything possible to ensure that the people get the best in terms of healthcare delivery system.
Noting that there had been complaints about the poor attitude of medical workers to patients, he said any of them who was tired of his service should honourable resign, rather than taken the lives of the people for granted.
Ogunsola noted that the Assembly would ensure proper monitoring of health system in the state to ensure that the people get the best in terms of healthcare delivery system.

The Governor of Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has extended his condolences to the family of late Emir of Borgu, Senator Haliru Dantoro, who died last week, describing him as a totally detribalised Nigerian who served meritoriously.
A statement by the Director, Bureau of Communication and Strategy, Office of the Governor, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, quoted the governor as describing the death of the late Emir and one time Senator and Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as a monumental loss to the country.
Aregbesola, who prayed for the repose of the Emir’s soul, extended his “profound condolence to the immediate family, the government and the entire people of Niger State.‎
He described the death of the late Emir of Borgu, as a great loss to Nigeria as it enters the change period, stating that the wealth of experience of the late monarch who was a great administrator will be missed.
Aregbesola noted that the demise of the Emir at this critical period of “change” of our national life is a great loss to Niger state and the country in general.
The governor urged the family to take with equanimity the death of Alhaji Haliru Dantoro; saying death is an inevitable end.
‎
Aregbesola said, “One clear lesson is the transience of life itself. It’s not about Alhaji Haliru Dantoro, but about the fact that death is a certainty that must come to every living being.‎
‎
“The demise of our highly revered father, Mai Borgu of Borgu Kingdom is a great loss to the country and indeed Niger State where he hailed from. Nigeria as a whole in this period of her change will miss his wise counsel and wealth of experience as a seasoned administrator.
“The late Emir of borgu was a bridge builder, an amiable personality who is at home with his people. It is my fervent prayer that Allah will grant him Aljanah Firdaus and give the people of Niger State the fortitude to bear the loss. We also pray Allah to comfort his family and give them courage and hope”. The governor emphasised.

Honourable Sunday Akere was the Commissioner of Information and Strategy in the first term of Governor Rauf Aregbesola, of Osun State. In this interview, the All Progressives Congress (APC) stalwart speaks on the face-off between the state workforce and the government and other issues.
THERE is a claim that the Osun State government is shortchanging its workers despite the financial bailout from the Federal Government. How do you explain this?
It is unfortunate that a lot of noise is being made in respect of payment of salary in Osun because in terms of states owing a backlog of salaries, Osun is not the worst.  Several other states are worst and there is little or no noise about it. But the situation is understandable because of the fact that the Osun State governor and the All Progressives Congress (APC) happens to be the albatross of the misfortune of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), both at the state and national levels in the elections held in March and April this year.  The August 9, 2014 election in Osun really spelt doom for the party. It signalled the end of dominance of the party at the federal level.  It was the agitation and outspokenness of Aregbesola that moved the President Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government to initiate the idea of supporting the states with a bailout fund. It is in three parts. Everybody knows that the bailout covers the arrears of June ending. The government of Aregbesola entered a Memorandum of Understanding with workers in the state on how the fund was to be disbursed. We have done the first part. The government has paid till May ending in full. Local government workers also have been paid till June in full. There was no provision for payment of pension in the fund but the governor  graciously acceded to the request and paid half of outstanding pension for December 2014 and also January, February and March pension. April will soon be paid. There is no hide-and-seek game between the government and the organised labour. We lay our cards on the table for all to see. Both sides are satisfied that nothing is hidden. And labour leaders can clarify what I have said regarding compliance to the terms of agreement. I can even get you a copy of the MOU we signed with labour for the sake of clarification.
But, the government is being accused of desperate moves to shore up Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) at the expense of the people of the state?
There is no desperation in our increasing the IGR. Everybody knows what accrued from the Federation Account since July 2013 is not sufficient to pay salary. The government used to receive an average of N4.3 billion. But, it has dropped to N2.7 billion. In April this year, it was N464 million. The understanding with labour is that we are not going to borrow again to pay salary. We agreed that whatever comes from Abuja would be added with whatever we can raise internally. It is even the leadership of labour that insisted that every avenue is tapped to make IGR. If an adult is asked to pay N1,500, I don’t think that is too much, talk less of being tagged desperation. Even the lowest paid civil servant pays N3, 500. Don’t forget all the facilities these people are enjoying. Payment of tax is what they should gladly do in return to show that they are citizens who truly want the state to develop.
Lecturers in state polytechnics are accusing the government of insensitivity to their welfare. Why is the situation so?
Sometime last year, the lecturers in the polytechnics and colleges of education started an agitation, asking government to increase the retirement age to 65 years like what obtains at Federal Government-controlled institutions. It took us a long time during which they intimidated the government. The state Executive Council deliberated on it and the state House of Assembly passed it as a law. After this had been done, they came up with another agitation telling us that the state should allow them to opt out of pension scheme. We told them that we met the compulsory pension scheme on ground. The Argebesola administration met it as a policy, which all levels of workers in the state pay it. We said under which condition should we allow you to opt out? There is a law which set up this scheme.  If you know you are not comfortable with it, you challenge it at the court of law. This is what we told them to do. They were at home for about nine months and we appealed to them to consider the plight of their students, some of whom should be in National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) now. We asked them to return to class to save their students the agony of watching their colleagues leaving them behind. We told them to consider the future of the students under them. In the past two weeks, the governing councils of the institutions have instructed the work to resume. Since last week, work has started in the four institutions. Those ready to work are back. The non-academic staff has also called off their strike. We are telling others outside to return to work.
It appears work has stopped on some projects in the state, especially the Gbongan-Akoda-Osogbo road.  Have the Nigerians seen the end of those projects?
It is not that work is no more going on the projects. Work is still going on in schools under construction. Where we slowed down a bit is the construction of roads. We are only assessing the federal road we are handling with a view to getting a refund. Graciously, we have a listening government at the centre now. It has shown genuine concern, and by the time we finish that and get the refund, we will return to work and complete the projects. We have done the assessment of the stage of work done on the Gbongan-Akoda-Osogbo as well as the Osogbo-Ikirun-Kwara State road as directed by the Federal Government. We have made our recommendation to the Federal Government. We have heard in the past weeks that Federal Government has promised to release a sum of N537 Billion to states handling Federal Government projects, among of which is Osun. So, when the fund is released, we are one of the beneficiaries, and this will make a difference and the job will be completed.
About two weeks ago, the government signed an agreement with the construction company handling the Moshood Abiola International Airport to complete the project within eight months. We are only sorting out the issue of salary arrears so that people will not accuse us of diverting the bailout fund into the airport project. I am assuring the people of Osun that there is no project initiated by the governor that will not be complete before the end of his term.
Is this controversy not robbing the governor of the popularity he enjoyed in his first term?
The government of Aregbesola is still popular and acceptable to the people as it used to be. The politics of Osun is like the politics of the entire nation. Osun people still appreciate him at public functions, especially at mosques and other places where they show their love to him. The only problem is the opposition, who are out to confuse the public with propaganda. For instance, we have not received the bailout fund before they went to town and said Aregbesola had collected and fixed the fund. The election had been won and lost. The loser went to the tribunal, Appeal Court and the Supreme Court. He lost all. The best thing for the loser is to accept the verdict in good faith and allow the winner to concentrate on the business of governance instead of causing distraction and confusing the public. But, I am happy the people of Osun cannot be deceived. So, they understand their blackmail better. In Osun, there is nothing hidden in the way the government is being run. That is the basis of our confidence to engage them when they come up with their blackmail.
What do you consider as the major challenge of being in government?
One challenge I always reflect on is public perception of political office holders. It is registered in the minds of the public that everyone in government is there to enrich themselves. They have no tolerance to understand how things work in the corridors of power. But, how do you explain this to the people who seem to have made up their mind? So, I am saying it not fair to jump into such conclusion. It is high time we appealed to the public to take pressure off the head of political office holders in the country. It is believed that going into government is going to steal money. People should understand that holding such offices carries a lot of responsibilities bothering on service delivery. They should not do things that would tempt public office holders to do what they should not do. If the demand is higher than supply, a public office holder is tempted to do what he should not do. I am appealing for understanding and more cooperation for government after elections. Another four years is the opportunity the electorate has to exercise their right of choice again.
-Tribune