Obaseki’s reforms: Edo Broadcasting Service remits N13m to IGR in 3 months, intensifies business prospecting

The Edo State Broadcasting Service has continued to record impressive improvements since the reorganisation of its management, as the media outfit has remitted N13m to the state government, for a period running from mid-December, 2018 to March, 2019.

The good showing is cast against the backdrop of insolvency reported under the previous management, wherein the station could not remit returns to the state’s purse but demanded subvention from the state government.

The station remitted N10m into the state government’s account for December 18 to February 28, 2019, according to earlier reports from the station.

Acting General Manager of EBS, Mr. Ransley Abu-Osagie, in his March Report, said that the station paid N3m as revenue to government, with its Lagos operations contributing N267,000. This brings to N13m the total amount remitted to government coffers in 3 months.

“The month of March presented a lot of novelties. It was the end of the first quarter of the year with little or no payments for products ahead of time. Electoral activities that characterised the earlier part of the year watered down after the general elections. The political class appeared financially exhausted and did little on air publications,” he said.

He added, “However, despite the challenges, we intensified efforts to break new grounds. We were able to pay three million Naira (N3m) as Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) to government. Of this amount, Lagos contributed less than nine per cent (N267,000) approximately. Benin office accounted for all the running cost and Test amount paid as IGR.”

He said the station rendered skeletal services at its Ihievbe outstation, noting that efforts are being made to increase the contribution of its Lagos office to its revenue profile.

According to him, “As part of efforts to strengthen business activities in Lagos, we had a meeting the team in Benin to explain to them the new vision of business prospecting. We are in touch with them and they have given assurances that things would turn around for good in the Lagos office in the month of April.”

The station’s interim management continues clears back-log of inherited debts, even as it makes monthly remittances to the state government.

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