Economic Confidential

The Oyo State Government has distributed over N200 million worth of essential drugs to hospitals and primary healthcare facilities in the state as part of the state's free healthcare programme.

Governor Abiola Ajimobi disclosed this while flagging off the first round of the National Immunization Plus Days' (NIPDs) campaign for this year at the headquarters of Ibadan North-East Local Government Council in Ibadan.

The governor, who said that this was in fulfillment of his earlier promise to stock state-owned hospitals and health centres with essential drugs, appealed to the sick people to avail themselves of the opportunity.

Governor Ajimobi said this year's occasion was another opportunity to re-affirm his government's commitment to transforming the healthcare service delivery system to further improve the wellbeing of the citizenry, especially the vulnerable groups.

The goal, he said, was to revamp the health sector as encapsulated in governance reform, infrastructural renewal, personnel training and service delivery.

``Our resolve is for Oyo State to remain polio-free and equally protect our children against other vaccine-preventable diseases. Hence, government will continue to mobilize resources for effective, efficient and accessible immunization services across the state.

``This is a declaration that this administration is already looking beyond the campaign strategy to strengthen the routine immunization service as the mainstay of reducing child morbidity and mortality,'' the governor said.

He charged all stakeholders to collaborate with government in achieving the goal, adding: ``all we request is for everyone to keep in focus our resolve, be dedicated to the course and be pragmatic in sharing our approach to achieving our targets.'’

Non-Oil Tax Hits N1.8Trillion as FIRS nets N5 trillion in 2012
The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has continued to record steady increases in the collection of all the taxes under its remit. The Service closed the 2012 financial year with a total collection of N5.007trillion; N1.806 trillion (36.07 per cent) of which came from non-oil taxes.

Oil taxes contributed N3.201 trillion (63.93 per cent and was N3.070 trillion in 2011.

These sums are significantly over the budget of N3.635trillion for all its taxes. Compared with 2011, the all-taxes figure grew by N379.4 billion or 8.20 per cent on. FIRS collected N4.628 trillion in 2011. The contribution of non-oil taxes increased from N1.557 trillion or 33.65 in 2011 to N1.806 trillion or 36.07 per cent in 2012.

The acting Chairman of the agency, Alhaji Kabir Mashi in an interview with the Economic Confidential last year had assured Nigeriansthat with dedicated staffs and effective strategies for revenue generation, FIRS would continue to exceed its annual targets. The N5.007 trillion is the highest cumulative tax collected in the history of the FIRS.

The Director of Communication and Liaison Department of the agency, Emmanuel Obeta said the performance reflects the Service's unwavering commitment to its vision of making taxation the pivot of national development. It is note-worthy in this regard, that all the non-oil components of the taxes collected by the Service maintained the rising trend seen in previous years.

Compared with the N715.4billion seen in 2011, Companies Income Tax (CIT) returned N847.5 billion in 2012. Value Added Tax (VAT) was N710.5billion against N659.15billion in 2011, while Education tax (EDT) recorded N188.43 billion against the N130.74 billion in 2011. National Information Technology Development Fund (NITDF) accounted for N9.13 billion against the N8.67 billion it returned in 2011. The sum of N51.59 billion was realised from Personal Income Tax (PIT), Pre-Operational Levy (POL), Capital Gains Tax (CGT) and Stamp Duty (SD), all pooled together in the Federal Government's Consolidated Revenue Fund account.

However, the total tax yield with the inclusion of Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT) for the year ended 2012 stood at N5, 007 trillion resulting in a landmark achievement when compared with the annual provisional budget of N3.635 trillion.

By implication, the Service surpassed the provisional annual budget with N1.372 trillion or 37.74 percent more than the total realisation of tax revenue collection for 2011 which stood at N4.62 trillion.)