When school fee is the only IGR that improves in Osun.... By Adebayo Adedeji

 

Since the release of the 2023 audited financial statement of Osun State, tongues have been wagging on why the personal and direct tax revenue of the state dipped substantially, from N14.6bn in 2022 to N11.2bn in 2023. And why the proceed on school fees from educational institutions was on the rise.

The Osun State Government had earlier in the year posted and celebrated N39.5bn as its IGR before it was strangely changed to N27.7bn, a staggering N12bn difference, in the audited Financial Statements published some days ago. 

Of the N27.7bn revenue, N9.6bn came from personal taxes, as against N10.4bn that was made from personal taxes in the previous year, when Governor Adegboyega Oyetola was in charge. Whereas the government of Oyetola recorded N4.2bn revenue from Direct taxes/Other taxes, the current government reported N1.6bn for the same purpose in the 2023 financial year. 

A critical analysis of the financial document indicates the bulk of the revenue outside the traditional taxes ( personal/directs taxes) came from exorbitant school fees leveled on students of the tertiary institutions in the state. N6bn was reported to have been raked from students of the Osun State University,  College of Education, Ilesa, College of Education, Ila, Osun State Polytechnic, Iree and Osun State College of Technology, Esa Oke. This was in sharp contrast to N3.03bn realized in 2022 from those institutions. For instance, a whooping N4.3bn was pulled in as school fees from Osun State University, as against N1.8bn realized in Y2022.

Recall authorities of state-owned tertiary institutions in the state had last year announced increment in what they called "ancillary charges,"  claiming the prevailing  economy in the country was behind their decision to review upward the fees payable by the students.

At a time leaders in other states were working around the clock to shelve some costs capable of exacerbating the hardship experienced by the students, the government of Osun was busy enburdening its own young ones with maniacal fees.

While the Osun students and their struggling parents paid through their noise to fund the luxury of the state actors,  the government officials were either looking away or lining their pockets with revenue that could have come to the coffers of the state government. In 2023, the revenue generated from Rent on land decreased to N192m from N407m gained in 2022. Similarly, the Rent on government building also dropped to N7.6m in 2023 from N40.5m in the previous year. Just as the income on Investment dwindled from N1bn to measly N50m!

These revelations call to question the claim of the state governor regarding "blocking leakages" to finance "ambitious" projects of his administration. Is making education beyond the reach of peasants and common men, by overburdening them with fees, a noble way of increasing the internally generated revenue (IGR) of the state?

Governor Adeleke must review the policy of his government to make it truly populist, rationale and in sync with economic reality. He must fish out Sunday Afolabis, Tunde Salaus and other scoundrels who divert government revenue into their private pockets. The 2023 IGR of the state, nay the entire financial record, is suspect and odious. Patriotic actions must be taken now so we do not have a repeat of this financial shoddiness.

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Daniel Adewole Awe Medical Center is a healthcare facility located in Ilesa, Osun State, providing quality primary and secondary healthcare services to the community and its environs.