In its bid to ensure seamless revenue generation, Oyo State Government has mandated all Ministries, Departments, Agencies, Parastatals, Local Government Councils, Institutions of the Government, or any government officials to henceforth not recognize, accept, or use a Trade/Professional License for official purpose without a valid Tax Clearance Certificate of the holder of such Trade/Professional License.

The Executive Chairman, Oyo State Internal Revenue Service (OYIRS), Mr. Adebowale Olufemi Awakan, disclosed this in a meeting with all the revenue generating MDAs of the government. He noted that there has been a continuous violation of the provision of Section 85 of The Personal Income Tax Act, Cap P8 LFN 2004, (as amended), and Section 40(5)(a) of the Revenue Administration Law of Oyo State, 2015, (as amended), and the consequential loss of revenue to the government.

Mr. Awakan who commended the effort of the State Governor, Engr. Seyi Makinde, who has not relented in fulfilling his promises to the people of the State despite the economic situation of the Country, but willing to do even more in as much as the people are ready to cooperate with him by performing their civic duties of regular and prompt payment of their taxes to the government.

According to him, the continuous violation of the revenue laws and the consequential loss of revenue is what necessitated the meeting with all the revenue generating MDAs of the government, consequently the compulsory enforcement of the use of a valid Tax Clearance Certificate by them in their subsequent dealings with Financial Institutions, Business Owners, Professional Bodies, e.t.c. He added that a publication was made in “The Punch” Newspaper of Tuesday 28th of November, 2023, to intimate the public of this development.

The Chairman therefore, called for maximum cooperation of all the MDAs as the Board leverages on the services being rendered by them to the public to generate income for the Government.

He concluded that the duty of the Board is to monitor and coordinate the revenue generation of all MDAs. He added that tax payment has now been made easy and everyone can do it on their phone by downloading “Revenue Mobile” on playstore powered by ICMA and follow the steps. Also, they can pay via the websites @payment.oyostatebir.com and selfservice.oyostatebir.com

The Financial Services Group of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) in collaboration with Fidelity Bank PLC hosted its highly anticipated business conference themed: Powering Nigerian Businesses for Growth.

The conference had the Honourable Minister of Trade and Investment Dr Doris Nkiruka Ozoka-anita, MD CEO of Fidelity Bank Mrs Nneka Onyeali Ikpe, MD CEO, KSBC Knowledge Resources Ltd, Mr. Chika Mbonu amongst other dignitaries in attendance.

In his welcome address, the President, Asiwaju (Dr) Michael Olawale-Cole, (CON), thanked the participants and emphasized the importance of this conference at this very critical time in the history of the country’s enormous economic challenges. He said such a platform provides an avenue to discuss the Nigerian Economy and promote business prosperity. While acknowledging the high poverty and unemployment levels, he emphasized the need to decisively shift from a survival phase into a growth phase by exploring manufacturing to explore growth opportunities.

He noted that the Federal Government has embarked on several critical reforms to ease the free flow of capital for investors, and expressed optimism that these will help improve the economy and ensure stability.

The event also featured a panel discussion themed: ‘’Key Issues Confronting Businesses in the Economy and Opportunities for Business Growth”.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has reportedly begun internal cleanup with the discreet redeployment of top officials.

According to The Guardian, the CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, has taken ownership of ‘housecleaning’ and commenced a broad staff audit to redeploy personnel not considered suitable for their role in line with the bank’s new direction.

It was gathered that eight directors were moved to the Financial Sector Surveillance (FSS) Department in the Maitama office.

While the motives behind the redeployments are unknown, there are palpable fears that more people could be affected by the redeployment.

The identities of those sent to the Maitama office are not known except for Philip Yusuf Yila, who served as the Director of the Development Finance Department (DFD) of the CBN under Godwin Emefiele.

Yila superintended the DFD that played a crucial role in supporting businesses through increased access to finance for priority sectors under a variety of programmes such as the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP), the Agri-Business/Small and Medium Enterprises Investment Scheme (AGSMEIS) and the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund (MSMEDF).

He also handled disbursement to households and small businesses during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic to cushion the impact of the consequent lockdown.

The Director of Corporate Communications, Dr Isa Abdulmumin, has also been redeployed while Sidi Ali Hakama takes over in an acting capacity.

This comes as there are also indications that the CBN may have been pushing for the review of the CBN Act as well as the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) to strip it of prudential regulations.