Oyo State government has said that its effort to strengthen the internally generated revenue (IGR) system was not to create hardship for the citizens but to meet up with its responsibilities of delivering the dividends of democracy to them.
Toye Arulogun, the state commissioner for information, culture and tourism, stated this while receiving members of the League of Veteran Journalists (LVJ), Oyo State chapter, in his office on Wednesday.
“Government has been restructuring our Board of Internal Revenue with the help of experts in that field. Governor Abiola Ajimobi’s administration has no intention to make life difficult for the citizens but rather to ameliorate their sufferings.
“This administration needs to strengthen its revenue base so as to meet up with its responsibilities to the people, while laws that are not aiding our IGR drive are also being redressed.
“We feel the pain of our people, we know they are expecting us to deliver on our electoral promises. We know what they are going through because of the economic recession of the country. We cannot add to their pains with our own plans and that is why we are embarking on renewed IGR drive to block the loopholes affecting our internal income,” Arulogun said.
Arulogun therefore called on members of the League to assist the ministry in the dissemination of information about the responsibilities of citizens towards the government, saying tax payment was imperative to the development of the state economy.
Speaking earlier, Wale Adele, chairman of LVJ, Oyo State, pledged the League’s readiness to support the Abiola Ajimobi-led government.
He also noted that Arulogun serving as the commissioner for information was a round peg in a round hole, stressing that, the antecedents of the commissioner assured him of a profitable collaboration between the League and the state, which would in turn move the state forward.
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