By Francis Akinnodi

Ondo State Government through the Ministry of Commerce lndustry and Cooperative Services, has urged traders in the state to pay up their business premises levies for year 2022 or face the penalty.

The Commissioner in charge of the ministry, Mrs. Lola Fagbemi said this while monitoring the activities of business premises in Akure, the state capital, called on shops owners to willingly discharge their civic responsibilities by paying government levies.

She explained that the ministry would continue to sensitize the traders across the state on the need to pay their dues to the government, stressing that enforcement would follow the sensitisation exercise.

According to her, “Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu-led administration has been able to deliver a lot of electoral promises through internally generated revenue. Government can only continue to improve on providing social amenities to better the lives of the people if they cooperate with government by paying up their business premises levies and taxes.”

She advised the traders to promptly pay their business premises levies directly to the government coffers and avoid payment through intermediaries.

Fagbemi, however, noted that the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Cooperative Services is a revenue generating ministry, and it would carry out enforcement against defaulters in due course across the state.