The transition Chairman of Oredo Local Government Council area of Edo state, Prince Ekpe Erediauwa, yesterday disclosed that to boost internally generated revenue (IGR) the council was to adopt an electronic card system in the collection and payment of taxes due to it.
?Erediauwa who spoke to newsmen on the 20th anniversary of the creation of Edo state said that the card system became imperative because the council was determine to block all leakages through which the local government was losing revenue.
He explained that the Council had to grapple with the challenges of harnessing its resources and stressed that from the short period he had spent he has been able to properly understudy the intricacies and the methodology in ensuring that money meant to the local government was collected and accounted for.
The Benin Prince said, “we are going to follow the method the state government is using in collecting its revenue by knowing how many outlets there are and also setting up a data base that will give us a clear figure of shops we have, so that the revenue due to the local government will not end up in wrong pockets.”
While noting that Oredo local government could be self-sustaining if it harnessed its revenue properly, he however blamed some of the loopholes to the activities of some cartels.
“One of the biggest problems we have is the fight against some cartels. If council received its fair share of revenue, Oredo will be self –sustaining rather than waiting for allocation from the state government.”
Commenting on the 20 years of the creation of Edo state, noted that the state under the leadership of Governor Oshiomhole has laid a solid foundation for the future development of the state and added that his administration would focus on creating employment by empowering the youths.