BY: ADÉMÓLÁ ÒRÚNBON
ABEOKUTA – Ogun State Commissioner for Finance and Chief Economic Adviser to the governor, Mr. Dapo Okubadejo had said that the State government has became the fastest economy through its focus on new state’s acronym ‘ISEYA’, Infrastructure, Social Well-being, Education, Youth Development and Agriculture developmental agenda.
Okubadejo said this at the maiden edition of the Ogun State Internal Revenue Service (OGIRS) end of the year cocktail party, held at Park Inn, Abeokuta, the State capital.
He said that the government was planned to create an enabling environment, best class governance for both private sector and corporate bodies in order to thrive and promote individual prosperity of the citizens to engender economic development of the State.
Okubadejo noted that infrastructure came first in the developmental agenda because without investment in infrastructure, no meaningful development and economic growth could be achieved.
He said that the government had developed economic cluster strategically to take advantage of various road infrastructure already constructed across the State, saying that the State had completed road construction of Ijebu-Ode/Epe expressway and many others with 90 percentage completion.
“Indeed, Infrastructural development, especially road construction which the government embarked upon, among others is a sure way to attract investors and development to the State, government is now embarking on building solar energies, so as to complement the government efforts on electricity”, Okubadejo said
In his submission, the Chairman OGIRS, Mr. Olugbenga Tony Olaleye noted that the gathering was familiarize with tax agents in a relaxed atmosphere and also to rub minds together for more robust business relationship in the coming year.
He said that the government was determined to collect appropriate taxes from all taxable residents in the State, noting that the government was not interested in overtaxing or undertaxing the residents of the State.
“In fact, we are intending to deliver quality customer oriented service delivery and to ensure that all residents taxable adults pay appropriate taxes as and when due, it should be no under or overpayment of taxes”, Olaleye said
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Revenue, Mr. Adegbenga Adeshina, applauded the guests and taxes payers’ companies, pointing out that aside from appreciating them for their support in paying their taxes, the event was also meant to give them insight into the digitization vision and execution efforts of OGIRS regarding transactions in the subsequent years.
“One is the robustness of the technology solution is the revamping operational process to bridge the gap between the existing manual or semi-automated processes to the anticipated digitization phase, as you all aware the Swan Experience of COVID-19 has resharpened our lives positively and in otherwise aspects, and of the positives is the compulsive adoption of Technology to initiate, process and complete business transactions”, Adeshina said.