Otti Targets September 1 To Migrate Abia To Treasury Single Account

·       Gov, Hands Over Road Projects To Contractors

 Dr. Alex Otti, Governor of Abia State, has set a September 1, 2023 deadline for the state to transition to a Treasury Single Account (TSA), where all monies accruing to the state and all payments will be placed into a single account.

This announcement comes as the governor handed over nine road projects to separate contractors on Wednesday, according to Kazie Uko, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor.

Otti, who spoke on Wednesday at a town hall meeting with the leaders of the state’s transport unions and markets at the Banquet Hall of the Government House in Umuahia, Abia’s capital, said the meeting was to educate and enlighten transporters and traders in the state on their obligations as the state transitions to the new digital tax payment system.

“Our government is quite responsible. We must prioritise the people, and that’s why you’re here,” the Governor said as he set the tone and agenda for the gathering.

Governor Otti stated that the goal of digitalising the state’s tax regime is to eradicate all sorts of sharp practices, such as fraud, diversion of funds, and middlemen.

“You can now pay from the comfort of your own home or office, and receive digital receipts on your mobile devices.” We may verify your receipts using a code, which I assume is a QR code. We can read your receipts and determine whether or not they are genuine.

“This scheme is carefully designed to develop and empower our people. It will lead to employment generation and also give confidence to our people that their payments are getting to the right place,” Governor Otti further explained.

He called on the stakeholders in revenue generation to embrace the new tax regime, insisting that it would help in eliminating all forms of manual collection of revenue and fraud, increase the revenue base of the State, help in the ease of doing business, attract local and international investors and also help the government fulfill its campaign promises to the people of Abia State.

Also speaking, the Special Adviser to the Governor on IGR, Mr. Chimereze Okigbo said the town hall meeting was to have useful interactions with the necessary stakeholders given the formal launch of the new digital tax system.

He said the system is simple and aimed at blocking revenue leakages of the State through the elimination of middlemen in government revenue collection. He said the government would profile agents and place them in various locations to assist in the system to make it seamless.

Meanwhile, the Governor has handed over nine road projects to different contractors, kicking off the process of revitalising Aba, Abia State’s commercial nerve center.

Governor Otti resisted the afternoon showers as he inspected the Aba metropolis’ degraded roadways, led by the Special Adviser on Works, Otumchere Oti.

Excited residents cheered the Governor and his entourage, which included the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt Hon Emmanuel Emeruwa; his deputy, Rt Hon Augustine Meregini and the Deputy Majority Leader, Hon Destiny Akaraka Nwagwu, at every stop as Dr. Otti observed the decadence that dotted long stretches of the roads earmarked for rehabilitation.

“We had promised that we are going to rebuild the roads. The first thing is that we clear the drainages because if we don’t do that, we won’t be able to build roads that would last.

“As you can see on this Azikiwe Road, the main job here is to clear the drainages, desilt them and open up the flow of water to Aba River.

“There are a few roads we want to rebuild completely and those are the roads that we have come to hand over to the contractors today,” Governor Otti told the ecstatic crowd.

Some of the roads that will receive immediate attention in order to “significantly reduce the sufferings of motorists within Aba” are, namely:

1. University Road, Abayi

2. Green Avenue

3. Udeagbala Road

4  Shallom Road

5, Umuimo Road

6. Old Express Road

7. Abak Road with adjoining streets

8. Queens Street

9. Jubilee Road.

The SA Works said more roads will be included in due course.

Meanwhile, the desilting of drains has commenced along Azikiwe Road. This exercise, according to the SA Works, will continue along so many other roads to facilitate the free flow of stormwater, and hence, reduce flooding on the roads.