Maduako Igbokwe l Wednesday, April 19, 2023
AWKA, Nigeria – Anambra State Keke Drivers Forum (AKDF), a conglomerate of tricycle operators has appealed to governor Charles Soludo to disband the State Joint Enforcement Team (ANJET),if he wants proper collections of revenue.
The group alleged that ANJET is populated by touts and agboros, who are currently diverting state revenues.
AKDF expressed shock how members of the disbanded tricycle union members made up of cultists found themselves in the government enforcement team for revenue collections.
ANJET was created by the Governor in 2022 as an enforcement outfit charged with the responsibilities of supervising, monitoring and enforcing compliance to the payment of taxes in Anambra state.
But Keke operators, while addressing the media after supervising some ongoing infrastructural projects initiated by the governor, stated that ANJET had been infiltrated by the disbanded touts and criminals agboros .
According to the Keke riders, members of ANJET have started diverting the state tax proceeds to their individual pockets as well as brutalizing Keke operators and tricycle operators daily.
The Coordinator of AKDF, Comrade Osita Obi, said most members of ANJET are engaged in cultism and touting, collecting and diverting government taxes as against governor Soludo’s drive to build peaceful, liveable and prosperous Anambra.
Obi expressed fear that if ANJET is not disbanded, it could be difficult for Soludo to deliver on his mandate. He said that if the enforcement team is allowed to stay they frustrate the qualities of roads and other ongoing infrastructural projects in the state.
According to him, the best way to block revenue leakages in the State in respect to Keke riders was for the governor to constitute Anambra State Keke and Shuttle Bus Management Committee to be led by drivers of tricycles and shuttle buses.
To him, the committees when properly constituted and inaugurated, would help the government to gather accurate data of their members, mobilise and enforce them to comply with digital taxations in the State.
“We are happy with the qualities of roads and other infrastructural works ongoing in the State. We have been to Amasea, Awa, Ufuma road. We are now at Umuogbu village (Awka) where governor Soludo is constructing erosion control. You can see the quality and standard of works here. We drove through some ongoing road projects along Kenneth Dike library and Roban stores. We have seen that our taxes are working.
“We will mobilise our members to join the government digitalised tax net. Not just our members, we will also take the gospel to industrialists, business executives, traders, politicians, the rich ,the poor and others to pay their taxes so that the governor will have more money to develop our state. But one more thing we are appealing to Mr Governor is to disband ANJET.
“Most of ANJET members are cultists and touts. They collect government revenue and pocket them. Mr. governor should rather constitute and inaugurate Anambra State Keke and Shuttle Bus Management Committee. The Committee should be led by recognized drivers of tricycles and shuttle buses, not by touts who are not members of AKDF. That is the best way to get more of them into the tax net. They will help the government to gather their data, enforce their compliance to tax payment and prevent crimes,” he added.
Also speaking, Mr Victor Asumougha, a tricycle operator from Onitsha/Nkpọr axis, and his colleague from Awka axis, Mr Uche Umeh, praised the governor for placing ban on touting in Anambra State, but argued that lack of proper enforcement of the order was negatively affecting collection of state revenue. They argued that the current recruitment of some of disbanded touts and agboros into NJET was affecting both tricycle businesses and State IGR on daily basis.
According to the tricyclists, some touts under ANJET still force, harass them to path way with their hard earned money instead of enforcing compliance with tax payments.
Addressing the newsmen after the tour, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Operation Clean and Healthy Anambra (Ocha brigade), Comrade Celestine Afam Anere, assured the group that governor Soludo was determined to exterminate touting, illegal revenue collections and criminalities in the state.
Anere, therefore, charged AKDF to remain peaceful, tax compliant as well as supports government policies, while going about their private businesses and works. He said touting and agboro remained banned in Anambra state and government will do all things possible to ensure they are rooted out of the state.
