The Oyo State Government has taken a swipe at the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Sharafadeen Alli, over his latest criticism of Governor Seyi Makinde’s administration, describing his allegations on tax administration as evidence of poor research and inadequate understanding of the state’s revenue policies.
The government, in a rejoinder issued by the Governor’s Special Assistant on Communication, Dayo Ogunbowale, said Alli’s accusation that Makinde had failed to domesticate the Tax Harmonisation Law was misleading and demonstrated his inability to distinguish between state and federal revenue operations.
Ogunbowale said the government would ordinarily have ignored what it described as another attempt to misinform the public, but considered it necessary to clarify the issues and prevent residents from being misled.
He also advised the APC candidate to engage competent researchers and fact-checkers to scrutinise his public statements before releasing them.
Defending Makinde’s tax policy, Ogunbowale maintained that the governor had consistently demonstrated a commitment to protecting residents from additional financial burdens, stressing that his administration had not introduced new taxes since assuming office more than six years ago.
According to him, Makinde reiterated this position during a media interaction with journalists about 11 months ago, when he declared: “We made up our minds that we will not increase taxes on our people. No new taxes. So, in the past six plus years, no new taxes in our state.”
He argued that rather than increasing the tax burden on residents, the administration had focused on expanding economic activities, creating an enabling environment for businesses and bringing more people into the tax net through improved economic productivity.
The governor’s aide also cited Makinde’s decision not to assent to the Presumptive Tax Bill passed by the Oyo State House of Assembly, which, according to him, would have imposed additional tax obligations on artisans and small-scale business operators, including barbers, bricklayers, photographers, mechanics and petty traders.
Ogunbowale said the governor rejected the proposed legislation because of its potential impact on vulnerable residents and small business owners.
He quoted Makinde as saying: “Anything that puts money in the pockets of the people is what I am interested in. At this time, I’m not interested in any policy that will empty their pockets. I’ll continue to fight poverty, not the poor.”
The government further recalled the measures announced by Makinde in February 2024 during a stakeholders’ meeting at the Fasola Agribusiness Hub to address rising food prices and reduce the financial pressure on farmers.
According to Ogunbowale, the measures included the immediate suspension of revenue collection on all farm produce marketed within the state for six months, a N600 million subsidy for tractor land clearing, and the disbursement of N1 billion to smallholder farmers through the Sustainable Action for Economic Recovery (SAfER) initiative.
He added that the administration also reduced the cost of tractor land clearing from N30,000 to N15,000 for farmers, removed the requirement for civil servants to stand as guarantors for loans under the Agricultural Credit Corporation of Oyo State (ACCOS), and provided haulage trucks to support the movement of agricultural produce.
The government, he said, equally established a dedicated hotline through which farmers could report revenue collectors engaging in unlawful activities.
Ogunbowale maintained that these interventions contradicted Alli’s allegation that the state government was responsible for imposing multiple levies on farmers and traders.
On the alleged illegal collections along major roads, the governor’s aide accused the APC candidate of confusing federal revenue operations with those of the Oyo State Government.
He insisted that the collection points being referenced by Alli were not operated by authorised state government agents, but were linked to federal-aided revenue operations.
He challenged the senator to investigate the identity of those behind the collections and demand accountability from the relevant federal revenue authorities, rather than attributing their activities to the Makinde administration.
“If Senator Alli had done basic research, he would have known that Governor Makinde had already suspended state collection on farm produce and is fighting those extortionists on behalf of farmers,” Ogunbowale stated.
The governor’s aide further described it as embarrassing that a governorship aspirant who had promised to pass a tax-related law within his first 100 days in office could allegedly be unfamiliar with the existing revenue arrangements and the state’s tax policy.
He questioned how Alli intended to address taxation in Oyo State if he could not establish which government authority was responsible for the collections he had criticised.
Ogunbowale urged the APC candidate to strengthen his campaign’s research and fact-checking capacity, warning that inaccurate claims could undermine his credibility ahead of the 2027 governorship election.
He maintained that the people of Oyo State were familiar with Makinde’s approach to governance, insisting that the governor’s economic philosophy was centred on expanding opportunities, encouraging enterprise and reducing poverty rather than imposing additional financial burdens on residents.
“Oyo people know who is pro-people. Governor Seyi Makinde will never add to the burden of residents of the state he governs. He expands the economy, not taxes,” he said.