By Eze Victor
Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has arrested five suspected illegal revenue collectors in Ebonyi State International market.
NSCDC in collaboration with the members of the State Internal Revenue Board made the arrest during a raid at the market.
The suspects were arrested in different locations of the market collecting the illegal tax from market women.
Items recovered from them included some booklets of receipts and cash already collected from poor women and children selling satchet water, vegetables and other petty items.
The market women at the market immediately some arrests were made, started singing praises to state Governor Francis Nwifuru.
Some of the women in interview said that the illegal revenue collectors had been thorn in their flesh as they collect between N50 and N100 daily or they will carry their goods pending when they pay.
The Leader of the Revenue Board team Emmanuel Elechi who is also incharge of Information and Communication Technology, ICT in the board said that the arrest of the suspects was based on incessant violation of Governor Nwifuru’s directive of exempting petty traders and vegetable sellers from revenue payment.
“We are determined to flush out illegal revenue collectors who bet on tarnishing the image of the board. We must adhere strictly to the directive of the Governor to allow the petty traders and vegetable sellers to do their business without paying tax. Our governor in his wisdom knows what the poor are passing through and decided to reduce the hardship but some people are sabotaging the gesture in a bid to enrich themselves. We cannot tolerate that, we shall continue to arrest them and prosecute them to serve as deterrent to others.”
The board also flagged-off the automation of e-ticketing for commercial motorcycles and Tricycle operators to checkmate crime and close revenue leakages in the state.
The Chairman of the State Revenue Board, Chief Christopher Omo-Isu who flagged of the exercise noted that the profiling of commercial motorcycles and Tricycles in the state will reduce crime and stop double taxation.
He said with the profiling and automation of the revenue generation, any operator that use the vehicles to commit crime would be traced, arrested and prosecuted.
Omo-Isu said that the new innovation will reduce touting in the markets, streets and major roads of the state as the operators would be expected to go to registration points to register within two weeks after which enforcement will commence.
He urged the people of the state to key into the new system that would bring sanity and safety to the revenue drive and reduce the fight between the touts and the cyclists.
