From Yakubu Busari Jos
Hon Dati
The Plateau State Government has concluded plan to clampdown on Nigeria Banks, business owners and organizations that have defaulted in the payment of ground rates for the past 15 years.
The Commissioner for Lands, Survey and Town Planning, Yakubu Dati, said the non- compliance by businesses on the payment of ground rents has gravely affected the Internally Generated Revenue drive of the state.
He said ECO Bank and Access Bank in particular have given the government sleepless nights over the issue.
As corrective measures officials of the has since embarked on an awareness campaign on operation pay -your tax and ground -rate among business and corporate outfits in the state.
Dati on Tuesday personally supervised the campaign after restating government readiness toward improving the IGR to enable it embark on the execution of meaningful projects for the people.
The commissioner and his team visited Eco Bank regional manager at Ahmadu Bello way, Jos, and formally presented him with the letter containing the accumulated ground rents and the plan by the government to recover the lost revenue accruing to the ministry .
Dati disclosed that the ministry has targeted revenue of N5m as part of its contribution to the state’s IGR target for 2020 fiscal year.
He express dissatisfaction over the none payment of the land dues, said to be in arrears of 10 years and said his personal visit underlined the seriousness of the government’s plan to recover the money.
The permanent secretary of the ministry who was also present explained to the bank boss the penalty for the default, adding that the government would take stringent measures towards recovering the debt.
In his response the head of the bank promised to forward the letter to the head office and also promised that debt would be offset as soon as he got the clearance.
At Access Bank on Ahmadu Bello Way, the commissioner also delivered another letter, asking the bank to clear its arrears of 15 years.
He lamented that since his assumption of office, he had discovered that many business owners and organizations are defaulting in the payment of their ground rents.
Dati emphasized the need for all companies operating in the state to urgently pay their debts to avoid embarrassment.
He called on individuals, private companies who might have defaulted to take advantage of the ongoing campaign on ground rents and obtain their C of O and other papers.
He also used the opportunity on the campaign to call on the people of the state to take advantage of the 50% discounts on certificate of occupancy (C of O) being issued by the governor, Simon Bako Lalong.
He appealed to land owners to avail themselves of the new opportunity as government has approved seven new layouts for which contractors have been given all the necessary paperwork on land titles.
Dati said the ministry’s targeted N5m for the state treasury was to help the government fulfill it 5- pillar policies on the growth and development of the state.
