BY: EMMANUEL CHUKWUMA, ENUGU.

Abia state Governor, Dr. Alex Otti has observed that excessive reliance on oil revenue by the various tiers of government in the country had retrogressively weakened any commitment to fixing the tax system.

This, he said has led to instances of multiple abuses by political actors and their agents masquerading as tax consultants.

“The adoption of all manner of crude tactics to intimidate and compel individuals and businesses into paying arbitrary fees in the name of revenue drive has also not made any affective case for regular tax compliance”.

The governor stated this in a lecture entitle “Beyond oil: Exploring Alternative, Revenue potentials for Economic growth and sustainable Development in Nigeria” which he delivered at the 37th convocation ceremony of the federal university of Technology Owerri (FUTO).

According to him, the allegation that much of what is raised for the government by non state actors are held back as “Cost of collection” has also led to deepen resentment a willful violation of the provisions of the tax laws.

At the end, he said that very little is collected and remitted to the public coffers while nobody cares.

“We hardly pay attention to these anomalies because those who should care have found a safe haven in Abuja where we all run to at the end of every month to share money raised mostly from the sale of crude oil”.

The governor made it clear that the present system of regularly sharing money among the federating units could never be guaranteed to yield capital development outcomes.

In his words “The way forward for us as the topic of convocation lecture, “Economic Development and Sustainability, beyond oil, Exploring Alternative Revenue potentials for Economic growth and sustainable, Development in Nigeria” aptly captured it is to look beyond oil money and begin to explore alternative revenue streams in order to meet our development targets”.

“My view is that our quest for development has suffered greatly for reasons not unconnected to the new culture of aggressive self-seeking. The selfish orientation of the present generation has stolen the voices that could have pushed for a better deal for every member of the community, irrespective of the economic profile of the individual.

“I believe To achieve better development outcomes, our disposition to community concerns must change as a necessary condition; it has to be appreciated that a functional primary healthcare facility within the neighbourhood may be the difference between life and death for any of us, irrespective of how many overseas-based doctors we have their contacts.”