Oyo denies placing tax on graduation, birthday, burials, others.

By Omodele Adigun

The Oyo State Government has denied plans to introduce taxes on social activities such as graduations, birthdays, burials, and other events, describing a viral post making the claim as fake and misleading.

In a statement signed by the Commissioner for Information, Prince Dotun Oyelade, on Thursday, the government disowned a viral flier which placed a N35,000 tax on burials, weddings, chieftaincy and corporate ceremonies, while some other social activities attracted N25,000.

The statement read, “Members of the public have been advised to discountenance a viral post that suggests that oyo state government will tax the populace for social activities such as burial, naming ceremonies and weddings.”

The government attributed the post to malicious intent, particularly as elections draw near, emphasising that any official tax or levy would have a Revenue Code and be signed by the Chairman of the Oyo State Internal Revenue Board, neither of which was present in the viral post.

He continued, “Any official Table of this nature will have the Revenue Code for payment of any tax or Levy and must statutorily have the signature of the Chairman of the Oyo state Internal Revenue Board. None of these conditions have been fulfilled in the viral post.

“Equally important is the address which must read OYO STATE INTERNAL REVENUE OFFICE which was clearly absent in the mischievous Post.”

He maintained that various tactics will be adopted by politicians to misinform them and mar the enviable achievements that Governor Seyi Makinde and his team have embarked upon for the past 7 years.

The Commissioner also cautioned bloggers and other news outlets against spreading unverified information, urging them to always verify their stories before putting them in the public domain.