Gov. Dapo Abiodun
Haulage Consultants and Revenue Agents across Ogun State’s 20 local government areas have been given the marching orders to show more commitment to the revenue generation drive of the present government by increasing their returns to avoid sanctions.
Reading the riot act at a meeting held with Corporate Haulage Revenue Consultant and Agents in Abeokuta yesterday, the Permanent Secretary, Ogun State Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Olu. Ola. Aikulola lamented the amount realised so far in 2023 from haulage.
Aikulola described it as a far cry from expectation adding that revenue collection is an important benchmark for rating government agency’s performance.
He said that revenue is the blood of the government without which investment in health, education, and security infrastructure, among others cannot be realised while pointing out that corporate and road haulage collection cannot be taken for granted.
He, therefore, warned that any haulage Consultant and Agent whose performance is below expectation would be sanctioned accordingly, assuring that the government would on its part remain committed to paying commission to them as at when due.
“The government is not comfortable with the revenue performance. What is coming in is too far from what is expected. There will be sanctions after this meeting.
“If we review your performance and discover that you are not performing, we will remove your name. We want a change of narrative,” Aikulola stated.
He described the meeting as instructive and compelling in view of present realities.
Earlier, Director, Geological Services in the Ministry, Mr. Lekan Eniolawun, said the Consultants at the inception of their engagement had been informed of regular meetings with the management of the Ministry to afford them the opportunity of sharing their challenges on the field, while a way forward is charted, adding that it would also help the performance review of each company.
Speaking on behalf of the Consultants, Mr. Kayode Sijuade, appreciated the Permanent Secretary and his team for providing the needed leadership and said a regular enforcement reminder to companies on their payment would be helpful in boosting revenue.
