Ahmed wants states to enhance internally generated revenue drive

OPC co-ordinator cautions against attack on Gani Adams

Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed has said that with improved Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) states will depend less on the Federation Account Allocations to meet their financial obligations, especially payment of workers’ salaries.

Ahmed said this in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, adding that the recent bail out by the federal government to all tiers of government for the offsetting of outstanding salaries of workers, through an interim measure, would give the states opportunity to work out new modalities of improving their revenue base.

Meanwhile, Kwara State Co-ordinator of O’dua People’s Congress (OPC) Abdulmaroof Olarewaju has distanced members of the group from the activities of an acclaimed co founder of the group, Alhaji Abdulkareem Olola-Kasum.

Olarewaju, at a press briefing in Ilorin, Kwara state capital said Olola-Kasum registered as a member of the group some 17 years ago, the development he claimed could not have conferred on him the status of a co-founder.

He described the modern day OPC as a proactive body under the leadership of Otunba Gani Adams just as he alleged that Olola-Kasum via campaigns of calumny on Adams was sabotaging the efforts of the body in the state.

But Kasum denied the claims just as he said he was too old a man (70 years) to be actively involved in the activities of the OPC and its leadership structure.

According to Olarewaju, “our attention has been drawn to a recent publication on a daily newspaper credited to Olola- kasumu where he said he was a co-founder of OPC and disclosed his reasons for dumping Otunba Gani Adams. We would have ignored his statements but we need to put the record straight in the interest of the public.

Governor Ahmed described the bailout and the decision of President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to slash their salaries by 50 per cent as proactive reactions to the sensibilities of Nigerians and prevailing economic challenges in the country.

He added that the measures were testimonies that the All Progressives Congress’ change mantra will usher and entrench new values of responsive governance, financial prudence and economic revitalization in the country.

Ahmed however, said his administration was addressing the effects of the continuous shortfalls in federation accounts allocation to the state through the improved IGR as the recently established Kwara State Internal Revenue Service was established to identify and block loopholes in tax collection mechanism in the state.