BENIN CITY — The Edo State House of Assembly has passed a bill establishing a legal framework for the imposition, collection and administration of levies on contracts, consultancy services and winnings from gaming activities in the state.
The passage followed the presentation of a report by the House Standing Committee on Finance, Economic Planning and Development, chaired by Hon. Sunday Aghedo, which recommended the bill for passage.
Presenting the report, the committee identified four key benefits of the proposed legislation, including boosting the state’s internally generated revenue (IGR), establishing a proper legal framework for levy collection, preventing arbitrary revenue collection under non-existent laws and helping to reduce unemployment.
Following consideration of the report, the bill scaled third reading after a motion for its passage was moved by the Majority Leader, Hon. Sunday Ojezele, and seconded by Hon. Addeh Isibor, representing Esan North-East I Constituency.
The Speaker, Rt. Hon. Yekini Idiaye, subsequently directed that a clean copy of the bill be transmitted to Governor Monday Okpebholo for assent.
In a related development, the House advanced a bill seeking to prohibit the unauthorised removal and vandalism of metal fixtures and public infrastructure, as well as regulate the activities of scrap metal dealers, to second reading.
The proposed legislation is aimed at addressing the destruction and unauthorised removal of public assets while establishing regulatory measures for scrap metal trading in the state.
Meanwhile, the House considered a petition by Mr. Okonoboh Oriabure, titled “My Retirement Money Is Not Paid to Me; I Am Denied the Benefits Accruing to My Last Promotion in Service.”
The report of the House Standing Committee on Public Petitions highlighted concerns surrounding the petitioner’s retirement date, entitlement to promotion benefits and deductions made from his gratuity over alleged salary overpayment.
The committee recommended that the Ministry of Education review the petitioner’s retirement documents, issue a corrected retirement letter reflecting the appropriate retirement date and refund the disputed deduction from his gratuity.
After considering the report, the Speaker directed that the petition be communicated to the relevant authorities for necessary action.
