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From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
Governors of the 36 states on the platform of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) are targeting an increase in tax revenue by 200 per cent.
This follows the presentation from the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Service (FIRS) and Chairman of the Joint Tax Board (JTB), Muhammad Nami, on the national Data For Tax (D4T) initiative.
A communique signed by Chairman of the forum and Governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi said the governors pledged support for the project aimed at expanding the country’s tax net to at least 90 per cent of all eligible taxable persons and were committed to collaborating with the JTB to increase the country’s aggregate tax revenue by up to 200 per cent as envisaged.
He said the D4T initiative envisaged an ecosystem where financial and non-financial data on all individuals and economic transactions would be collated into a central National Tax Data Bank with the National Identification Number (NIN) as the primary unifying code.
On the presentation by the national convener of the UN Food Systems and Permanent Secretary of Budget and National Planning, Olusola Idowu, on the National Pathway to Food Systems Transformation, Fayemi assured of governors commitment in the plan which is to prioritise the establishment of farm settlement estates for groups of smallholder producers, including women and youths, to increase the supply of farm inputs, the use of machinery, access to extension services, and market access.
“The forum affirmed its commitment to the ideals of the programme which many states are already pursuing and committed to working with the federal government to expand the development of these settlements across the country.”
On the brief by Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Alex Okoh, on the proposed sale of five power plants under the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), the governors said it was part of the consultative process with state governments who are shareholders of the plants
The governors in order to strengthen the national enrollment exercise of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), which has so far seen the issuance of over 74 million national identification numbers to Nigerians across the country, pledged to support the programme through a string of measures.
The measures include support for sensitisation activities, integration of NIN in state services, and collaboration with telecoms providers to improve network infrastructure for sustained identity registration and authentication.
“Governors re-echoed the need to complete the harmonization and integration of databases, to reduce the carriage of multiple identifications (IDs) by citizens noting that being able to uniquely identify persons is extremely important for social security and cross-state border management.
“NIMC is to liaise with State Governments through its various State Coordinators in addition to working with the NGF Secretariat,” they said.
The governors were also updated by the NGF Secretariat’s Health Adviser, Dr. Ahmad Abdulwahab on the country’s health security interventions, particularly on the COVID-19 Preparedness and Response Project (COPREP) and the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHPF).
The governors discussed the status of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Lassa fever outbreak, and the need to improve the quality of polio campaigns as well as the setting up of State Emergency Medical Services and Ambulance Services (SEMSA) with accredited health facilities and requisite personnel.
The Forum also congratulated the outgoing Governor of Anambra State, Willie Obiano who joined the NGF meeting for the last time before he hands over to his successor Professor Charles Soludo on March 17.
