News Obiaks News

Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, has threatened to close down four commercial banks in the state over their alleged refusal to pay several millions of naira as taxes to government coffers. The taxes are recoded to have been owed by these banks over the years. The banks have been able to hide without payment because the government had not been taking the issue of tax very seriously. The dwindling fortune of the country, with the fall in price of crude oil, has however prompted the governors to look at other means of generating revenue. Many of them are now clamping down on tax evaders for start.

Fayose, who issued the threat on Monday while holding a meeting with retirees in Ado Ekiti, the state capital, revealed that he had obtained a court order to shut down the affected banks. He said he would go along with the planned shut down if these banks do not pay up the tax they are owing the state. He promised to carry this out soon too.

The governor, who accused the banks of shortchanging government despite making huge profits from the state, said he would not look the other way and allow banks and other corporate organizations to defraud the state. He said he is not planning to overlook tax the same way previous governments have done.

He warned the affected banks and other businesses owing government taxes and levies to pay same or risk being closed down. He however did not give specific period of time for them to pay up their owed taxes before he would initiate the close down exercise on the banks and other institutions.

Fayose also reiterated his decision to make all private nursery, primary and secondary schools in the state pay newly-imposed taxes before resumption by middle of September. He said this is very important considering the need by government to generate revenue from what they have in their states towards supplementing what is being received as allocation from the central government.

Each of the private schools is expected to pay N150,000 into government coffers before reopening for the new academic session, while anybody who purchases one cow to be slaughtered for any occasion will now pay N1,000.

Fayose also told the pensioners that he is targeting haulage vehicles passing through the state as taxes would now be imposed on them to generate revenue into government purse. He pleaded with the pensioners to be patient with him, saying he has been battling with the debt left behind by the immediate past administration and promised to meet their demands as soon as financial situation improves.

Meanwhile, Fayose on Monday caught hundreds of civil servants by surprise when he stormed the state Secretariat unannounced for an unscheduled visit. The governor, who arrived the secretariat at 8:00am, ordered that the main gate be locked against latecomers most of whom were unaware that the state chief executive was around. Fayose, who wore a black suit over sky blue shirt and black trousers, stood on the road leading to the secretariat where he personally caught the erring civil servants.