Jethro Ibileke/Benin
Rear Admiral Samuel Alade, Commandant, Natiional Defence College (left) presents a souvenir to Governor Adams OshiomholePhoto: Jethro Ibileke
Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State has advocated the return to the strict tax policy of the colonial era which was also applicable before the oil boom of the seventies as a way of getting out of the present crisis caused by a crash in the price of crude oil.
Oshiomhole who stated this when Course 24 participants of the National Defence College who are on a study tour of Edo State, visited him in his office in Benin, said what Nigeria needs in terms of Internally Generated Revenue was to recognize that governance is about courage, about will and also about fairness, adding that, “if you are going to apply the law, apply it without any discrimination.”
The Governor who said nobody is above taxation as even the president and governors pay their taxes, said states and federal government must deepen their Internally Generated Revenue base because it is what obtains in developed countries of the world.
According to him, “central to every debate to every country with mature democracy, is the issue of tax payment. We have to find the courage to be firm and just and we have to give commensurate service.
“When I was growing up, the only thing we had was the Local Government Authority Primary school and everybody who was up to 18 years and above paid a fixed tax. When villagers met at the village square to discuss and you made a bold statement, another villager would challenge tell you to shut up because you had not paid your tax. He would tell you, don’t talk where men are talking because you had not paid your tax, that you are not a man.
“Villagers used to recognize that not …Read More
Source:: PM Newspaper
