Kwara State Governor, Dr. Abdulfatah Ahmed, has said that appropriate taxation culture was necessary for the economic growth in Nigeria in the face of dwindling earnings from crude oil.
He said this when the National President of the Chartered Institute of Nigeria (CIT), Dr. (Mrs) Olateju Somorin paid him a courtesy visit at the Government House, in Ilorin.
Ahmed said the dwindling monthly fiscal allocations was taking a toll on the economic fortunes of states and the country at large, adding that the states must exploit new forms and areas of taxation in order to stay afloat.
He expressed concern that taxation had not been given the right place in Nigeria, especially in helping to ensure the growth of the local economy
“It is imperative that we do not leave things out by ensuring that taxation is given the rightful place and taken to all levels across the nooks and crannies of the country so that people can truly see that the core responsibility goes hand in hand with economic, social and political development”.
“No meaningful development can take place without exploring and exploiting new aspects of taxation because we are at a cross-roads with our over reliance on oil as our economic mainstay”, he said.
Somorin commended the state government for establishing the new Kwara State Internal Revenue Service to enhance tax collection in the State, other developmental agenda, particularly the environmental sanitation programme, as well as the peace project.
