Sokoto State Governor, Rt. Hon Aminu Waziri Tambuwal has declared the payment of tax or any form of state revenue by cash in the state as null and void that will not be tolerated henceforth.
The Governor stated this at the stakeholders’ sensitization on Sokoto State revenue integration and consolidation Law, 2019, held at the auditorium Hall of Sultan Muhammad Maccido institute of Quranic recitation and general studies, Sokoto.
He assured the residents of the state that the law is to improve and protect the internally generated revenue of the state to meet up with the challenges of the state.
He said, “this law is going to help in improving the provision of quality education, adequate security, water supply, bridging of housing deficit and other social amenities for the people of the state.
“The law which I believe will be passed into law by the state House of Assembly soon is to take off in about six weeks from now, precisely on May 1, 2020.
“Let me assure the people of the state that this administration will judiciously make use of the tax collected”
The Governor also called on the people of the state, especially the opposition political parties in the state not to play politics with the issue of governance.
He called on the people of the state to ensure payment of their tax to the appropriate quarters, saying the wage bill of the state stands at N3billion only.
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He further disclosed that the state allocation stands at about N4.2bn, where the state has many other people-oriented projects to attend to.
Also speaking, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, commends the state government for the initiative and promise the support of the Sultanate council.
He said the effort is aimed at improving the state in terms of infrastructure which he assures of total support for the system to assist it’s set objective.
Earlier, the guest speaker, Dr Shamsuddeen Usman, a former Minister of National Planning, described the importance of tax payment in the society as imperative.
Usman, who is also a former Minister of Finance as well as former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, delivered a lecture tagged, “the significance of taxation to good governance and accountability”.
He likened the payment of tax in the modern world to that of payment of Zakat in Islam, saying, for the development of any society, payment of taxes must be fully implemented.
Other speakers at the event include the state Attorney general and Commissioner for Justice, Suleiman Usman (SAN), and his counterpart from the Ministry of Finance, Hon Abdulsamad Dasuki.
Others include the speaker of the state House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Aminu Manya Achida, representatives of ALGON, Mohammed Bello, Professor Abubakar A. Yagawl, Dr Jabir Sani Mai Hula, Malam Bello Na, Malam Boyi, Malam Abubakar Mabera and the state Deputy Governor, Hon Manir Dan’Iya.
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