Local Content: Tax relief will boost industry – Ogundimu

By Lanre Adesanya

The Chairman Lagos State House of Assembly committee for Finance, Hon Oluyinka Ogundimu has counseled the Federal Government to give tax relief to upcoming industries and restrict importation in areas of the economy, where we have comparative advantage.

The lawmaker representing Agege Constituency II at state Assembly made this call, while commenting on recent Central Bank of Nigeria’s issuance of operational license to the Development Bank of Nigeria in an attempt to boost small scale entrepreneur in the country.

Ogundimu maintained that the license approval is apt, in that the Development Bank of Nigeria having been licensed will afford the ease of industrial growth, as initially aided by Bank of Industry with single digit interest rate of 9 percent.

“The Development Bank of Nigeria will join the fray of Bank of Industry which deals much with development of small scale and medium scale businesses, as a matter of fact that is the only financing firm with single digit interest rate at 9 percent.

“It is coming in to complement BOI and will go a long way to step up the economy.

“It will really increase the purchasing power of the people within the economy and help step up plans to get out of recession quickly, though a long term projection as the results will take a while before it could be seen.

“To bolster the economy more I think the Finance Minister saddled with the responsibility of managing the nation’s economy needs to try as much as possible to give tax relief to upcoming industries”. Ogundimu said.

The Finance Minister should pursue this course with other economic regulating agencies; and restrict importation in areas where we have comparative advantage.

He however enjoins the government to,” try to unbundle the electricity managing organization as a whole, to allow each state  generate electricity and seamlessly break the monopoly of having everything concentrated in the central.

” This will lead to rapid development in every sector and will really encourage more foreign and indigenous investors, generate employment and boost accruals to government via revenues.

Ogundimu added that the delay in passage of the 2017 budget by the National Assembly could truncate the plans of the government ,noting that mechanism to solve the ego war need be explored in the interest of the nation, for the concerned constitutional institutions to relate harmoniously, “as the flexing of muscles won’t lead us anywhere.