Enugu State Internal Revenue Service (ESIRS) has recruited over 200 workers to address loopholes in tax payment and enhance revenue collection, and boost massive infrastructural developments across the state.
Addressing the new employees at a strategic training programme anchored by Price Waterhouse Cooper at the Nike Lake Hotel, Enugu, yesterday, Governor Peter Mbah, who was represented by the secretary to the state government (SSG), Prof Chidiebere Onyia, urged them to ensure the success of the government‘s revenue drive.
He said the government was committing over N1 billion to every Smart Green School project in each of the state‘s 260 electoral wards, stressing that this had never happened before.
“The government is completing the International Conference Centre, restoring the Hotel Presidential, which was the pride of Enugu, as well as building Smart Green Schools, Type 2 Primary Health Care Centers, among others.
He stated that the state has over 1000 projects going on simultaneously and will require increased revenue to complete them”.
Impressed with the progress of revenue ESIRS so far, the SSG commended the revenue agency‘s chairman for a job well done, saying: „The ESIRS Chairman here, along with his team, has done a great job collecting and enforcing tax laws. We have been accountable because this money is the people‘s money, and we are responsible for ensuring it is tracked and used effectively. We are on the right track, having seen our IGR rise astronomically far more than we did previously.“
Also, the Commissioner for Finance, Dr Nathaniel E. Urama, clarified that the recruitment aimed to leapfrog revenue collection and block existing loopholes.
„We are here to support what the governor promised Ndi-Enugu and ensure it comes to fulfilment. With this extensive recruitment, the ESIRS is positioned to revolutionise revenue collection in Enugu State, ensuring that funds are generated and utilised efficiently for the benefit of the people.
„The people of Enugu are already seeing things working to their expectations because things are changing. The disruptive innovation is already ongoing; people are even willing to pay their taxes because they see that what they are paying is being used. From this number we have recruited and the revenue to be collected, I am sure that given the dedication and zeal of the governor willing to use the state’s money to help move residents out of poverty, Enugu will become the destination of choice”, he said.
Responding, the Chairman of ESIRS, Emmanuel Ekene Nnamani, gave assurance that the agency would continue to meet and surpass people‘s expectations.
„We must prove to the governor that recruiting 200 young staff benefits the state. The recruits would bring in fresh energy, enabling the state to double its revenue collection within a few months,“ he said.
