The Governorship Candidate of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, Mr. Effiom Okokon has promised to overhaul the current taxation system in Cross River State for economic development.
Mr. Okokon made the vow during a press conference in Calabar, the capital of Cross River State, south-south Nigeria, where he rolled out his six points development programme to reposition the state as a tourism and business hub.
Okokon, who is an economist and ex banker, attributed the massive collapse of micro, small and medium scale businesses in Cross River to the current tax regime, which he noted was huge.
Attracting Investments
According to the governorship candidate, one of his major policy thrust would be a complete overhaul of the current tax regime for a new system that would attract direct foreign investments as well as prevent the economy from collapse.
He said, “when tax was increased, companies in Cross River State closed down and left. The thinking of government was to generate revenue from increased taxes, but when the companies left Cross River generated zero revenue from those businesses.
“What we (SDP leadership) are going to do is to overhaul the tax regime in a way that the people will have more money to spend and when there is more spending everyone prospers.”
“This is going to be one of the first policies that we will be implementing once we take over the leadership of Cross River State in 2023. We will reduce taxes so that companies can stay here and so doing employ more people. Attracting direct foreign investments would be enhanced if we have a more friendly tax system in place,” he emphasised.
On strategies to revitalise the dwindling purchasing power of the people, the SDP gubernatorial candidate said; “My and I are prepared to tackle sectoral challenges in the health, education, tourism, agriculture, transportation, and infrastructure to enshrine positive change.”
New money
Okokon stressed the need for what he described as ‘new money to be injected into the system through tourism and the provision of services and products from other sectors of the economy similar to the Florida experience, where revenue is generated from tourism, travel, and hospitality sector.
The SDP Governorship candidate said, “we will also focus on the abundant natural resources in Cross River State and the revenue that accrues. We are going to make sure that Cross River State and the people get the value they deserve from all the things God has blessed us with.
“There is a need for ‘new money to come into Cross River State and that is by attracting new investments and new investors can only come when we have the enabling environment, friendly tax laws, and the operating environment generally. That is a policy direction we would adopt.”
Women participation
Okokon explained that the SDP, which remained one of the oldest political parties in Nigeria, was leaving no stone unturned by ensuring that women were part of the campaigns as many won the tickets for the House of Assembly elections in 2023.
He said, “we have a lot of women contesting for State Assembly positions within the party. We also have a lot of women working on this team. We are carrying women along because we know that women are a veritable and strong force.”
Okokon eulogized Nigerian women such as the Director General of the World Trade Organisation, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and the globally recognized Nigerian writer, Chimamanda Adichie as well as a former Minister of Information and Communication, the late Dora Akunyili and Political Icon, the late Margaret Ekpo.
He cautioned the electorates against selling their votes during the forthcoming election in 2023.
Okokon further urged eligible voters to cast votes for the SDP as the only political party with the capacity to move Cross River State to greater heights.
Mercy Chukwudiebere
