Maduako Igbokwe I Saturday, May 20, 2023
AWKA, Anambra – A graduate tricycle’s operator in Anambra state Mr Uche Umeh has expressed worry over the concentration of governor Charles Soludo’s tax drive is mainly on Keke operators in the state .
Umeh who is a graduate of Business Administration, Adamawa State University said in Awka that it has been baffling him why the Internal generated revenue IGR payment and the enforcement are targeted at common Keke riders ,who are already on ground. He disclosed that government has established three agents just to go after Keke riders for revenue collections.
According to him, other people doing business in Anambra state are not being harassed and intimidated like Keke riders.
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He said that instead of the government helping the Keke riders to grow, it is stunting the growth of the young ones who out of frustration venture into the business.
“Why is it that the government is concerned about enforcing tax payment on Keke people alone while others are left out? Presently, there are about three (3) different enforcement groups working independently of each other and their targets are only Keke riders.
There is the OCHA BRIGADE, the ANJET and more recently Dr Chris Madubuko has formed his own enforcement team comprising all the known touts and banned Tricycle Owner’s Association of Nigeria “TOAN” members. Of all the three mentioned, apart from Ocha Brigade, who occasionally enforce other commercial drivers, the other two enforce only Keke people to the best of my knowledge.
“I make bold to state here that I have never seen ANJET enforcing compliance on anything other than Keke, not to talk of the touts in new uniforms who wants to die on Keke affairs. Why the interest on Keke? he asked. He also queried why the government will be using non tax payers to enforce tax payment in the state.
“Does the government see Keke operators as people who should be intimidated and subdued at will, all the times? Does government see us as people who have no voice and shouldn’t be heard and their concerns should not be considered? The most ridiculous aspect of this IGR system is the insistence from the government that even when you didn’t work for whatever reason, you must still pay for those weeks/month. Is that not trampling on those already down? Does the government consider that majority of those riding Keke today are doing it as a last resort other than becoming a burden to others or going into a life of crime? Why must the government that tags itself the SOLUTION proving to be otherwise? When you compares what we as Keke operators pay as tax and those that do businesses, you will discovered that we are paying higher , amounting to hundreds of millions.
The government has not been fair to us the Keke riders” he said. He said that the government has not been faithful in reciprocating the trust they have on them. He said government has caused a proliferation of touts in the state and has given them official backing.
“We have been crying for palliative measures to be carried out on some major roads that has been wrecking havocs on our tricycles for a long time, to no avail. In the beginning, the government painted beautiful pictures of how we will be operating in the state without molestation but since then, we have been left at the mercy of private parks operators and street urchins who charge us at their whims and caprices.
“These park operators will tell you that the parks are private business and no one has the right to tell them how to operate them . What prevents the government from providing these parks for us so as to save us from multiple taxations? Before signing park authority to anyone, can’t the government lay down the rules to these people?
“In all, it suffices to say that the government is not sincere at all. Government is only interested in the money Keke riders are paying. Whatever other complaints/problems we have, we should deal with it on our own” he stated.
