AKOREDE FOGO
Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun on Monday said his administration would not hesitate to prosecute any official of the state government or contractor indicted for compromising standards in erecting structures that threaten life and property.
Abiodun added that if such official or contractor is found guilty of compromising safety and standards, he or she will be jailed.
Abiodun handed down the warning, while speaking at the Treasury Board Meeting on year 2022-2024 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and the 2022 Budget held at the Obas’ Complex, Oke Mosan, Abeokuta.
The governor said, the pre-occupation of those responsible for building control should not just be revenue generation alone, but they should ensure due process and best practices in consonance with the State Building Control Regulations.
He said, “If somebody was given approval to construct a storey building and you find out that the person has started decking for the second floor, you give him a stop order and penalty for exceeding the original approval. That is not enough, the penalty should be punitive. Yes, I want to see the money but, I am more concerned about the welfare, wellbeing and wellness of our people”.
“I am coming up with a law that will send workers in the building industry to prison. Workers in these agencies responsible for building control are susceptible to taking bribes. I am going to ensure that there is something in our law that will send head of building control agency to prison if a building collapses in Ogun State under their watch”.
Abiodun, who declared that his administration has increased the Internally Generated Revenue of the state and made more money than any other administration in one year at the end of September, pledged the determination of his administration to sustain the trajectory recorded and also improve on it in the coming year.
The governor, who equally said his government has grown the economy by 20 percent over last year, added that performance of 2020 budget is now over 70 percent, saying “we will achieve 85 percent by the end of the year”.
He explained that his administration opted to support the call by some state governments to collect Value Added Tax, so as to ensure that those who generate VAT, collect and enjoy it.
According to him, “the VAT campaign was in the spirit of restructuring and fiscal federalism”.
“We have made more money than any other administration in one year at the end of September. We have grown the economy by 20 percent over last year.
“Budget performance is over 70 percent now and we will achieve 85 percent by the end of the year”.