KARIFEST TV INTERVIEW WITH THE EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN DELTA STATE BOARD OF INTERNAL REVENUE DBIR SIR MONDAY JOHN ONYEME.

■ Questions

○{ Answers}


■Sir, You have been the Chairman of the Board for a while now, can you tell us how long


○{ Well, i have been the Chairman of the Board for Close to 4yrs now, to be Precise we will Complete 4yrs by September 30th 2019}


■ As the Chairman of the Delta State Board of Internal Revenue,  that is an enviable Position and i know it comes with a lots of work,  Can you give us an incite on what your job is all about


○{ The Executive Chairman Delta State Board of Internal Revenue is the Chief Tax Officier of the State, its a very Challenging job, its a job that goes with a lots of responsibilities , generally we do not expect much accolades or salutation from the general public because a tax Collector in the eyes of a taxable Persons is not a Welcome Person but we try to apply human feeling to the work in generating revenue for the State and as a results of the awareness we have put in by the Special Grace of God our revenue is rising Progressively by the day to the benefit of the entire Deltans }


■ We know that is not easy to get Nigerians to Pay tax unlike other Foreign  Countries that are used to Pay tax. Now as a Tax Collector, its not an easy assignment, its very tasking.  How do you make this People Cofe out money to Pay their tax


○{When we Started, we come out with enlightenment Campaign, we Place adverts on the Print Media, we embark on a Road Show Sensitization on the needs to Pay tax, we also Organise Seminars where we invites different Stakeholders, Heads of Associations seeking their Cooperation }


■ Sir, Since close to 4yrs as the Executive Chairman of the Board would you see a Significant increase in the Internally Generated Revenue of the State Compared to what it use to be.


○{Yes, we have come a long way, we have made remarkable Improvement in our tax Collections, if i should go into figures before we came in the state generated 50b in 2013, it was the highest IGR since the creation of the board as at then,  then Companies like Shell and some other Companies was still in the State , in 2014 they generated 43b that was when some big Companies like Shell left the State, in 2015 we came in 3 months to the end of the year and the annual IGR was 40b, in 2016 we move it up to 44b, in 2017 we move it up to 51b which is higher than the highest generated by the Past administration, in 2018 we move it up to 53b, you can see the Progress made thus far and in this 2019 we are hoping to reach 65, 66 or 67 and the signs are there that we are going to get there.


■How Did you managed to get to achieve this, how did you managed to Convince People to Pay tax


○{ This is through Public enlightenment, educating the People, telling them the truth about what the law says about taxation and how you arrive at the figure in terms of their Payment, you must make them understand and also explained to them the benefits too}


■How has the System help in making your work easier because the Person who place you there His Excellency Dr Ifeanyi Okowa is a results oriented Person, his a man who wants to see results, how has the Government help in making it easier for you to break the records


○{ His Excellency the Governor has been so wonderful, he doesn't interfere even when some Persons make reports to him as regards to taxes, he direct them back to the board to do the right thing, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa has been so helpful to the Board}


■In the area of tax evasion, while its it that People dont Pay tax


○{ This is as a results of Ignorance or lack of Knowledge as regards to taxation, a lot of People grow to meet a System where they never knew anything about taxation, when i was growing up as at early 70s our fathers who were farmers do Pay their taxes because he use to say that the tax men are coming from Benin and when they comes he Pay his taxes but as a results of the Oil that was flowing in Nigeria now made the Government to feel relaxed on taxation because there was so much money coming from oil exploration and exploitation, this made the Government to forget about those money collected from farmers and what have you and now focused on the Oil  }


■How does this taxation be of help to the People considering the basic amenities needed by citizens


□{  I have explained this to several Persons, its very easy to see that pur roads are bad, that our hospitals and Schools are nit working but the truth of the matter is the Federal Allocations for state has dwindled hence if you remove VATS, IGR, how can you Pay the doctors, nurses, cleaners, the teachers and the roads will get worst, hospitals will close down not that the IGR are for salaries but addition of the IGR and the Federal Allocations will make it Possible to Pay Workers Salaries and to Provide BASIC amenities for the Citizens, we can see the Good roads Constructed by the Okowa's led administration }


■ In the case of tax evasion who are we going to blame


□{ Its the fault of the Person who evade the tax because the laws are there and Ignorance of the law is not an excuse, if you are Prosecuted you can say you are not aware that you are suppose to Pay tax, that its while we dont just Charge you to Court, we will write you a letter and remind you severally, Probably invites you to make you understand that this is what you are owing, its only when we have exhausted all this before we will used the last option by taking you to Court }


■ The IGR realise from the State does it goes to the Federal Government


○{No, the IGR realise is used by the State but you know in taxation there are different classes of tax, Company income tax, Value added tax for example goes to the Federal Government but Personal Income tax goes to the State}


■ Who is a taxable Person and how can such Persons be identified


○{A taxable Person is an adult who has attained the age of 18yrs and above who have something such as business where he or she makes Profits }


■ Those Traders and Sellers are they expected to Pay tax and how can their taxes be determined if they are expected to Pay tax


□{Yes they are expected to Pay tax because they make income from the Goods they are selling and their taxes can be determined through direct assessment


■What are the Consequences of Tax Evasion


□{As regards to the law, You can be fine, you can be Imprisoned, you can forfeit your Properties or both when the Court finds you guilty for evading taxes }


■ Let me ask you an unusual question, What is so Special about you as the Chief Tax Collector that makes the Governor to find you out


○{ Haha, I dont really  know but what i know is that for you to be the Chairman of Delta State Board of Internal Revenue you must be a Professional of which i am, according to the law you must be a Professional  for 10yrs, either a Professional tax Practitioner, Banker, Accountant,  manager and according to the requirements stated by the  law , i am qualified. I have been a Chartered Accountant since 1992 }


■On a lighter mode that means you are sitting on Billions of Naira, how rich are you


○{Haha, That is not a correct Statement, we do not sit on Billions of Naira, it might surprise you because you may not know. The Board of Internal Revenue generates money for the State but the Board of Internal Revenue do not have access to that that fund, People get it wrong, the Board does not receive cash, all money paid by tax payers are paid directly to the Government Internally Generated Revenue Account and those account are not Controlled by the Board of Internal Revenue,  the Board are not Signatory to the account, we write to the Accountant General of the State to get statements of the Account to know how much we generated at the end of every month.


■ You have Awards all over your office, in all Corners there are Awards, tell us how did you get them


□{ Well, we have come a very long way and i think some of the Awards is as a results of what People saw me doing, there are so many Awards that are Professionally related apart from that i am Privilege to be Part of some Service Organisations like the International Association of Lions Club, i have been a Member since 2001, i have received so many Awards from Lions Club and other humanitarian Service Club


■ Sir, you are a Core Anioma Person, what does the life of an Anioma man means to you


□{In this reality that one cannot Choose where he hails from, i am very Proud to be an Anioma man, we are very humble People}


■ Tell us about Ndokwa Nation where you Come from


□{ Ndokwa Nation are Part of the Anioma Nation and among the 9 Local Government Areas in Anioma Nation, Ndokwa Nation has three Local Government Area Ndokwa West, East and Ukwuani LGA, we are known for farming, more than 80% of us are farmers, Ndokwa Nation is a very Peaceful area, if you can take a look in the past 20yrs the crises that has rock different Communities in the State, how many could you identify that comes from Ndokwa Nation, so many Communities wont accept what Ndokwa People accept today, a lots of outsiders are working Peacefully in the oil Companies that are in Ndokwa land}


■ Dr Ifeanyi Okowa is an Anioma man and i do know that you Played a vibrant role to ensure that he is re-elected. Why


□{ We have to be Sincere with ourselves, a lot of us develope Interest because of Gov Okowa because we felt we the Aniomas cannot be push aside because its our turn, we supported the other two Senatorial Districts and we the Anioma supposed to be Supported too but hearing that there are plans to deny the Anioma People Prompted a lot of us to do all we can to ensure Gov Okowa clinches the ticket and haven done first tenure, he deserves to Complete his 8yrs like other senatorial district.


■You supported Gov Okowa just because he is an Anioma man


-□{ He was not the only Anioma man that wanted to be Governor, we supported him because he was the best, we are aware of his Political track records and we know that he will Perform excellently well


■ You have a group called Odoziani,  tell us about Odoziani


□{ Odoziani Support Group was a group that i established  to Support His Excellency Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, Odoziani itself is my traditional title, it was rooted in the three LGA in Ndokwa Nation, we also have Members in Warri here, we have in Agbor, Asaba, Ogwash-uku, and some other areas in the State}


■ What is the future for Odoziani, will it be used for another Governor that is coming or it comes to an end after Gov Okowa's tenure


□{ Odoziani is a Political Group and i want to believe that Gov Okowa as a Governor even after is tenure wont retire, he can become the President of the Country tomorrow


■Sir tell us your life as a Philanthropists, what inspired you to touch on People's life Positively


□{ Growing up was not a very very easy one, i have my Challenges Considering the background i came from but inspite of this and in the course of growing up i also met a  Good Nigerian who renders assistance to me unconditionally, he saw me through my Secondary School, he saw me through my Polytechnic,  he saw me through my University,  he is a Northerner, a Muslim, he did not know my father or my mother and as i grow up earning income one must remember where he was coming from.


■Sir you are a husband and a father, tell us about your family life


□{ I have a very Beautiful home, a home that i am very Proud of, i have three daughters and two Sons with a beautiful wife and we are all doing very well, my wife isva Professional Quantity Survey.


■ How do you have time with your family


□{ Anytime i am in the house in Asaba its family time, so whenever i am at home is like paying back for the time i was away and they are always excited.