Ondo Government may shut down FUTA, ACE over tax evasion

The Ondo State Government may soon shut down the two federal tertiary institutions located in the state. To be shut down include Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) and Adeyemi College of Education (ACE), Ondo over invasion of taxes.

Already, the state government has directed the Internal Revenue Board to place notice of non-compliance on the gate of the institutions.

According to the Internal Revenue Board, FUTA is said to be owing about N2.7billion, while Adeyemi College is also owing the government over N346million.

When DailyPost visited ACE, lecturers and some passers-by besieged the school gate reading through the notice.

The notice placed on the institution’s gates reads, “take notice that the owner/operators the company/business premises have failed to comply with their tax obligation under the relevant federal and state laws. Any officer or agent involved in this contravention is punishable by fine and/ or imprisonment under a section of the personal income tax act 1993 as amended by order of the Ondo State Board of Internal Revenue (OSBIR)”.

A lecturers of ACE, who spoke under anonymity decried the recent increase of tax by the state government.

He wondered why such huge amount of money will be placed on the institution.

His words, “Thank God, the COEASU is on strike and presently our students are not around because by now they may be planing to stage a protest against the government and you always know the result of students’ unrest”.

The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of ACE, Mr Moses Akinfolarin, when contacted on phone said he could not speak on the matter, but referred our correspondent to the Registrar and Provost of the school for comments.

However, a senior staff in the Bursary Department who craved anonymity said the amount claimed by the government to have been owed by the school was too outrageous, insisting that the institution had not been evading tax as alleged by the state government.

He said : the said money is too outrageous and the college has been paying. The argument is that the college has not been paying the right amount of money. If the government is alleging tax evasion, how then were they able to calculate it to arrive at that money they brought,”

“As far as I know, ACE has never defaulted. If you check through all higher institutions in the Southwest, you will discover that we are actually paying the highest amount of tax, so if the government could come up with N347million, they should be able to tell us how they calculated it and arrive at the said amount.”

In the case of FUTA, the Spokesman of the institution, Mr Adegbenro Adebanjo when contacted on telephone claimed to be oblivious of the development, but promised to meet the school Bursar.

” I am not aware of the matter, but I will contact the school Bursar about it, I will get back to you, ” he said