Gov. Aiyedatiwa is going to work for the people of Ondo State – Hon. Ayodele Akande FCA
Hon. Ayodele Akande FCA is the immediate past Executive Chairman of Akoko North West Local Government, Okeagbe Akoko, area of Ondo State. He spoke with Focus Magazine Publisher, Ayodele Ologunola, on Gov. Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa led administration, tax reform, and other issues. Excerpt.
What do you have to say in the last year’s governorship election that produced Aiyedatiwa as the duly elected governor of Ondo State.
I can say that the election that produced Gov Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa as the duly elected governor of Ondo State is the will of God. The election was marvellous and fantastic. It shows the love of Ondo State people towards Aiyedatiwa. This is the first time in the history of elections in Ondo State that a candidate will win in all the eighteen local governments in the state. They called it 18-0. The achievements recorded by Mr Governor after he succeeded his predecessor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, made the people of Ondo State vote for him enmas. APC has been in government since 2016, and the former governor late Akeredolu performed excellently well. All these helped him to win the elections. Also, his name “Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa” works for him, because he has a listening ear. He brought all the party members together even the opposition parties. All these helped him to win the election.
By February 24, 2025, he will be sworn- in as the Executive Governor of Ondo State, what do you think the people of Ondo should be expecting from him.
The people of Ondo would be expecting more from him because their expectations are many. Although, he has prepared for the tasks before him, he is going to choose the best eleven that will work for him to succeed. Both the Iyalojas, artisans, civil servants and the people of Ondo are going to expect more dividends of democracy from him.
You know that the Ondo State Government was one of the states that first implemented the new minimum wage for the civil servants. So, we are going to expect good governance from him.
People are saying that some of the projects left behind by his predecessor, he was unable to complete it, what is your view on it.
As an accountant by profession, when you start a project, it’s not done anyhow. It has to be done in a phase. Every project has to be budgeted for. In the last budget, we don’t know how much it has been budget for the projects. As we are in the new year and members of the House of Assembly have passed the budget, all the projects are going to be completed.
You can be well aware that the budget passed by the Ondo State House of Assembly, people have complained that it has been padding, also accusing the office of the finances Commissioner. As a financial expert, what is your comment.
The majority of our people don’t understand what we call budget. Individuals can not just ascribe a budget to himself. We have a ministry or a department of budget and planning. They were the one that are in charge of budget implementation. It is the Ministry of Budget and Planning that are responsible for budget, not the Ministry of Finance.
The needs or wants of each various communities must have been asked for. It’s the duty of the Ministry of Budget and Planning to put various needs of the local governments on the budget.
Ministry of Finance does not know anything about the budget. The function of the Ministry of Finance is to monitor what has been approved by the House of Assembly. It’s the duty of the governor to sign what the state House of Assembly has been approved for the financial year. It is then that the ministry of finance started to implement it.
What do you have to say about the issue of taxes being put on the neck of our people
The new tax bill proposed by the federal government is going to benefit us at the end of the day.
President Tinubu has assembled some experts who understand everything about tax. These are the people who will advise the government on how to implement it without having any effect on our people. All this has been done in advance countries.
They are some taxes that are inimical to our people. Some taxes are easy to collect while some are not. With what i have read or heard about this taxes is that, when the committee recommendation is out and accepted, it is going to help us. Some of our people who are doing business worth #3 million may not pay tax. Any company that has less than #5 million working capital may not pay tax. I’m only appealing to Nigerians that the new tax bill is going to help us.
About the value added tax, the tax provisions are seven and half per cent. The new tax bill introduced an increasement after certain years. It is very easy to collect indirect tax than direct tax. Direct tax is just like a payee or personal income tax. It’s not easy to put your hands in your pocket to say that you want to pay, but indirect tax is easy to pay. In all the consumable goods you buy, tax has been added to it . The new tax bill says that the state that generated more VAT, let the state enjoy more than the state generated little. Some states don’t consume alcohol, but they want to collect more than the state that consumed and generate more VAT. These are some of the things that the new tax bill is going to correct. If the new tax bill is fully implemented, it is going to help the country economy.
How do you see the just concluded local government election in Ondo State.
The governorship election conducted late last year had paved the way for the local government election. You know that Governor Aiyedatiwa won in all the eighteen local governments. What do you expect from the local government election? To whom much is given, more is being expected. Governorship election has opened the way for the local government election.
How do you see the issue of local government autonomy.
Autonomy for the local government is good, and there is no alternative to it. The local government is the one that is closest to our people at the grassroots. The Kabiyesi, Iyolojas, youths, groups, and people would have access to their respective chairmen, to make their requests known.
About the autonomy for the local government, I can say that there is no absolute autonomy for local government. The state is being guided by the federal government, and likewise, the local government is going to be guided by the state government. I don’t believe that the state government will go in one direction and local government going in another direction. They are some structures that need to be put in place before we can have absolute autonomy for the local government.
If you look at what is happening now in our political structure, it seems we are heading into a one party system. All the opposition parties are moving enmass to APC. Do you think this health to our democracy.
I don’t believe we’re running into one political party. The man that is now in the helm of the affairs of the country has been the one God sent to this country at this crucial time. He understands the problem of the country. When he was in opposition as the governor of Lagos state, he was able to study the system and confront the power that be.
He introduced certain policies in Lagos state. If you visited Lagos state, you will know that it is different from other states in the country. They have goals, targets, and master plans for the state. The template he used for the Lagos state is the one is now used for the country.
Other politicians had seen the good in Tinubu, and they wanted to associate with him.
Our democracy is developing. We can’t compering ourselves with developed democracy with USA, UK who have been practising it longtime ago. We have to cooperate with the government in power so we can move the country forward.
What is your word of advice for the people of Ondo State.
My advice for the good people of Ondo State is to support governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa led government. The is the first time our people in state vote enmass for a governor of their choice. They should go back to their various businesses and cooperate with the new government. They should allow the governor to settle down so that more pressure will not be on his neck. To whom more is given, more is expected. I have it in my mind that Governor Aiyedatiwa is going to work for the people of Ondo State.
