Following its resolve to integrate the hospitality industry in the state into the revenue pool of the government, the Kogi State Government has constituted a special task force to register hotels operating in the state.
The main responsibility of the task force is to feed government with accurate information on hotels in the state.
While inaugurating the eight-man committee recently in his office, the Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Barr. Kayode Olowomoran, noted that the inauguration of the task force became necessary based on the directive by the governor for an aggressive revenue drive to enhance the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the state.
The commissioner disclosed that there are over 500 hospitality outfits spread across the state. He pointed out that there was every need to have the hotels properly registered to enable the state government plan on how to ensure that they operate in line with international best practices.
He charged proprietors of the hotels to cooperate with the task force as they go about their assignment, just as he noted that the essence of the exercise was not to impose tax on them but assist government in keeping proper records of the hotels in the state.
He also appealed to members of the Hotels and Tourism Board to offer helping hand to the committee to harness the successes expected.
In a remark, Hon. El- Shettima Agbogun, Chairman of Hotels and Tourism Board, enjoined the committee to demonstrate diligence and transparency in the discharge of the assignment before them.
He noted that the idea of registering the hotels in the state was for the good of the state.
The Chairman of the task force, who is also the General Manager of Hotels and Tourism Board, Mr. Olowolaiyemo Joseph, pledged the readiness of the committee to do a thorough job.
He also solicited the support of all stakeholders in the industry to enable them achieve the set objectives.
The task force has Mr. Saidu A. Usman as secretary, representatives of both the police and the State Security Services (SSS) and the State Board of Internal Revenue (BIR), service are also members of the committee.
Source: The Graphic
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