Edo councils to adopt new revenue collection system

The Chairman of the Edo State Chapter of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON), Hon. Jenkins Osunde has said that the 18 local councils in the state have concluded plans to switch to a new system of revenue collection.

Osunde, who is also Chairman, Oredo Local Government Area, disclosed this at the end of the monthly Edo State Joint Account and Allocation Committee (JAAC) meeting at Government House, in Benin City.

He noted that N24, 094,500 out of the N3.261 billion that accrued to the 18 local councils in the month of June (distributed in July), was used to pay for Airtel Internet connectivity that will drive the new revenue collection system, adding, “The Airtel internet connectivity will provide the network that will be used for the new system of revenue collection we are migrating to.

“The 18 LGAs are contributing towards the new internet connectivity and we need to send the money before the connection can be done.”

He explained that the total deduction from the Gross Allocation was N1.735 billion, with N1.525 billion as net allocation to the LGAs while total amount transferable to the LGAs stood at N1.509 billion.

According to him, State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) teachers’ and non-teachers’ salaries gulped N929, 462,153 while Local Government contributions for pension is N423, 429, 894.

Osunde added that payment for pension arrears gulped N100 million while Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) by LGAs in the month of July was N196, 590,479.

He said there was an increase in the IGR realised in July compared to that of June, noting, “The share of the IGR to the LGAs in June was N159, 618,465 while the share to the LGAs in July was N160, 340,540.”