Lukman Olabiyi
Lagos State government has signed an agreement with an e-solution firm, Payment Technology Limited (Paytech) on revenue collection automation within the state tertiary institutions.
The agreement between the two parties is aimed at plugging revenue leakages.
Paytech is an e-solution provider with a focus on assisting Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDA) to convert all their cash-intensive operations to a cashless platform.
The firm, however, denied that the initiative was a revenue-collection drive but a move to introduce a central e-monitoring tool like it had done in some other states in the country.
In a statement, Paytech’s Chief Operating Officer, Adetunji Osho said: «We introduced into the market place an e-monitoring tool that shows beyond a reasonable doubt that internally-generated revenue (IGR) collected by state-owned tertiary institutions are sufficient for the institutions to provide world-class education, provided there is 100 per cent collection and remittance to their coffers.
“The aggressive plugging of revenue leakages that our platform has provided has enabled state governments to increase their revenue through savings made from subventions.
“These savings can be diverted to other critical infrastructural and developmental needs for the benefit of the populace.”
Osho further disclosed that Paytech implemented the platform within 10 Ogun State’s tertiary institutions between 2012 and 2018, which he claimed led to 50 per cent collections within a year.
He said: “We were the foremost company to implement this platform in over 10 Ogun State’s tertiary institutions between 2012 and 2018, where our platform increased collections by at least 50 per cent within a year and the state saved a lot in subventions.
“The tertiary institutions reported more revenue than they did with government subvention after the implementation of our platform.
“We are currently providing the same service to other states’ tertiary institutions in some south western states. We have a wealth of experience in providing this service and we have never rendered any of the tertiary institutions worse off from the implementation of our platform.”