Sealed property: We won’t treat you as sacred cow – Oyo govt tells ex-gov Alao-Akala

The Oyo state government has said it would not treat any defaulter of taxes, levies and dues as sacred cow nor exempt any institution covered by the extant law from paying taxes.

Chairman of the state Board of Internal Revenue, Bicci Alli, said this in a statement he personally signed and issued to journalists on Saturday.

He was reacting to allegations by a former Governor of the state, Adebayo Alao-Akala, that his property which was sealed by the state government during the week over alleged tax evasion, was an act motivated by the political developments in the state ahead of the 2019 general election.

Though Alli announced the reopening of the sealed property on the instruction of the state governor, Abiola Ajimobi, he cautioned that it was on a temporary note to create an extended grace period for Alao-Akala and other alleged tax defaulters to clear their debt to the government.

The statement reads: “Our attention has been drawn to a misleading statement credited to a purported media aide of a former Governor of Oyo State and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, His Excellency, Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala, in relation to our latest enforcement drive against tax defaulters.

“We wish to debunk the insinuation in the said statement suggesting that the exercise, including past enforcements, as well as future initiatives were political vendetta targeted at certain imaginary opposition to the ruling government.

“For the avoidance of doubts, our agency gave ample opportunity and enough notices to tax defaulters to reconcile their records with the board and make statutory payment through advertorials in national newspapers weeks before the enforcement team began the exercise.

“Since the exercise began, we have shut many financial institutions, companies owned by respected statesmen, private and public entities that have defaulted in tax payment, in order to demonstrate our impartiality.

“During our last outing on Thursday, we shut many firms and business premises, whose owners were yet to yield to our civil and legal approaches to make them to comply with extant laws and regulations on the performance of their civic obligations.

“Among these were an event hall owned by the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT); a business plaza known as Ile Itesiwaju; Wemabod, owned by Oodua Investment Company, Carlton Gate Hotel, and NUT Teachers House, among others.

“Coincidentally, Ile Itesiwaju is said to be owned by HE Otunba Alao-Akala, who happens to be a former governor of the state.

“When words got to the Governor, His Excellency, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, about the status of the building, His Excellency immediately directed that we reopen it in order to give the owner more time to reconcile with the Board of Internal Revenue and make the necessary payments.

“We have since complied with the governor’s directive and business activities have resumed on the premises pending when they will clear the debt owed the state government, as no defaulter is exempted or protected under the law.

“However, the board will like to emphasis that it will not treat any defaulter of taxes, levies and dues as sacred cow nor exempt any institution covered by the extant law from paying taxes.

“We want to use this opportunity to again appeal to businesses and individuals still in the breach of tax payment not to wait for our enforcement teams to seal up their premises before they approach our offices to regularize their payments.”