By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Chairman of the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS), Mr Ayodele Subair, has disclosed that the state government uses funds from the taxes paid by Lagos residents to finance many groundbreaking projects.
He said this at The Peak Performer (TPP) Festival and Awards held at the MUSON Centre, Lagos, recently, where he was announced as the Most Outstanding Performance as a Public Sector CEO.
Calling on the people to support the state more by paying their taxes when due, the LIRS boss noted, “Because a lot of people don’t even connect the dot, people feel that when they go to the US or UK, they are very happy with what they see, good roads, light, security and so much support from the government but somebody has got to pay for it and the only way we can achieve such greatness is when all of us pay our parts.”
“We have a lot of ideas and innovations that we apply because nobody wants to pay tax in any part of the world. Nigeria is not different from the other parts of the world. So, we spend a lot of time in advocacy because we realise that a lot of our citizens don’t avail themselves with all the various laws and procedures,” he added.
The LIRS chief noted that payment of taxes is part of a social contract between the government and citizens as it helps the government to provide efficient infrastructure and qualitative social services.
“We have to show the people where the money goes to encourage them to pay their taxes as and when due. We have a lot of projects that are going on.
“So, nobody who lives in Lagos would deny the fact that there are a lot of groundbreaking projects going on in Lagos, so many of them – the Blue Line, the Red Line, all the good roads, security,” Mr Subair further stated.
It was gathered that the agency and its chief executive went home with five awards at the event, including the Most Outstanding Revenue Collection Agency of the Year, the Most Outstanding Performance as Women-Friendly Revenue Collection, and the Most Outstanding Performance in Public Engagement.
These awards were dedicated to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the tax-paying Lagosians.
The convener of TPP Fest, Mr Abiola Salami, said the event was instituted to appreciate individuals and organisations doing great things in Nigeria, noting that, “A number of things are going right in Nigeria, and on our continent, it is not all gloom and doom.”