* Adopts Revenue Generation Measures
By David Odama (In Lafia, Nasarawa State)
Concerned by the lawlessness and attitude of the vehicle operators especially in the urban cities of the state, the Nasarawa State House of Assembly, on Tuesday, passed into law a Bill to Establish Nasarawa State Motor Vehicle Administration and Traffic Management Agency in the state...
Speaker of the House, Rt.Hon Ibrahim Balarabe Abdullahi, announced the passage of the bill into law after the Deputy Majority Leader of the House, Daniel Ogazi, moved a motion to that effect during the House proceedings in Lafia
According to the speaker, the bill when operational will, regulate and control traffic as well as generate revenue for the state, adding that the agency shall have responsibility for approval of registration of motor vehicles, issuance of certificates of title of motor vehicles in a prescribed form to any applicant whose name appears on the vehicle registration form.
"A Bill for a Law to Establish Nasarawa State Motor Vehicle Administration and Traffic Management Agency and other matters connected thereto pass third reading. It will provide evidence of ownership in respect of the motor vehicle, issuance and renewal of Motor Vehicle Licence and Driver's licence, learner's permit among others.
The speaker who directed the clerk of the House to produce a clean copy of the bill for Gov. Sule's assent, said the establishment of the agency would also create jobs in the state, thereby reducing unemployment .
Similarly, the State Government has adopted measures to ensure a robust internal revenue generation for the state.
This came to fore during a meeting between the state Deputy Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Akabe and Chairmen of local councils as well as Overseers of Development Areas in Lafia.
The meeting which was at the instance of the state Deputy Governor, was held to get inputs on how best to improve the state's revenue base in order to hit the three billion naira monthly benchmark earmarked by the government.
According to the deputy governor, the meeting is necessitated by the sudden decline in federal allocation to the state which is made worse by the poor state of internally generated revenue and lack of tax remittance due to leakages. He stressed the need for participants to put their heads together towards proffering solutions.
The deputy governor equally regretted the non- implementation of the tax harmonization law in local government councils and called on the council Chairmen and Overseers to make a difference by getting their records straight as well as review agreements reached with consultants to avoid issues of duplication of tasks and multiple taxation.
Contributing, Chairman of Nasarawa State Board of Internal Revenue, Ahmed Yakubu Mohammad, noted that the meeting provided an avenue to address challenges mitigating against revenue collection at the third tier of government. He urged the Chief Executives of the Councils to embrace the Central Billing System to boost the revenue drive of the state.
Ahmed Yakubu Mohammad also implored them to adopt the new POS system introduced to enhance revenue generation in their respective jurisdictions, just as he made a case for improved synergies between local councils, development areas and the state government.
Speaking shortly after the meeting, state Chairman, Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, (ALGON), Mu'azu Maifata, who said the meeting has gone a long way in addressing grey areas in tax collection, expressed the readiness of the councils to implement the state harmonization law to the letter. NNL.
