Makinde Rules Out New Taxes In Oyo, Says Focus On Expanding Productive Economy

Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to not increasing taxes on residents, stressing that the state has deliberately chosen economic expansion over imposing additional tax burdens.

Makinde stated this on Tuesday during a media chat with journalists, where he reflected on his government’s fiscal and economic strategy over the past six years.

“We made up our minds that we will not increase taxes on our people. No new taxes. So in the past six plus years, you won’t have any new taxes in our state,” the governor said.

According to him, rather than introducing new taxes, the state government has focused on expanding the tax net by growing the economy and enabling businesses to thrive.

“What we’ve done is, we’ve brought people into the tax net. It’s a chicken-and-egg type of situation. What do you do first? Do you tax the people first, or do you create an enabling environment where they can expand production?” Makinde asked.

He explained that his administration chose to build a productive economy first, arguing that sustainable internally generated revenue (IGR) can only come from increased economic activity.

“When you expand production and you have a productive economy instead of a consultative economy, then you are in a position to tax more and raise your IGR. That is a less-travelled road, but that is the road that we as government decided to take,” he said.

The governor also disclosed that the state recently reviewed Nigeria’s economic landscape and studied how other African countries have leveraged international trade frameworks to grow their economies.

“We looked at schemes that other African countries have been able to take advantage of to expand their economy. Take AGOA, for instance, the African Growth and Opportunity Act. What is the data for Nigeria?” Makinde queried.

He noted that countries such as Mauritius, Rwanda and Kenya had effectively utilised AGOA to strengthen their productive base, while Nigeria lagged behind.

“Countries like Mauritius, Rwanda, and Kenya took advantage of AGOA. They expanded their productive base. But we were still talking about how much is FAAC and all of that. So we said, no,” he added.

Makinde further revealed that Oyo State has taken a bold step under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) framework by engaging directly at the subnational level.

“We looked at the African Continental Free Trade Agreement and saw that there is a provision that you don’t necessarily have to operate at the national level. The subnational can also go out there, get their own deals, and then fulfil it,” he said.

He disclosed that Oyo State has become the first subnational government in Africa to sign onto the AfCFTA framework formally.

“In this entire continent of Africa, Oyo State became the first subnational to sign the agreement as a party to it. So any day you have an AfCFTA event, Oyo State will be at the table with other heads of government from African countries,” Makinde stated.

Explaining the motivation behind the move, the governor said the state could not afford to wait for federal-level interventions.

“We didn’t want to wait for Federal. We want to broaden our own productive base. And we want to be able to, under that protocol, expand our own economy and sell to other African countries,” he said.

Makinde added that the overall goal of the strategy is to sustainably grow Oyo State’s economy, create jobs, and increase revenue without placing additional financial pressure on citizens.