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The Abia State Government has vehemently denied the allegation that it is overtaxing residents of the state, urging anyone with evidence of such overtaxation to present proof.
Reacting to a recent accusation by a legal practitioner, Emperor Gabriel Ogbonna, the Special Adviser to Governor Alex Otti on Media and Publicity, Ferdinand Ekeoma, urged Ogbonna to provide evidence that could justify his allegation.
“It has been over 48 hours since I challenged my brother and friend, Emperor Gabriel Ogbonna, to publish evidence of demand notices he has received or receipts of payments he has made since this government assumed office. He is yet to respond to the challenge.
“Let me at this point extend the challenge to others who believe that this government is overtaxing Abians. Please publish evidence of the tax your house or office has paid, including ASEPA fees, between 2023 and today. Let evidence end this argument.
“Before the government of Dr Alex Otti came on board, people’s houses and shops were ‘painted’ with all kinds of demand notices ranging from Property Rate, Infrastructure Levy, Business Premises Permit, Business Licence, Operational Permit, Operational Licence, ASEPA fee, Property and Tenement Rate, House Fitness Permit, Excavation Permit, and many other illegal levies.”
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Ekeoma said in the past, while ASEPA had multiple collection agents and offices in all the zones and streets in Aba and Umuahia, heaps of refuse still littered the streets, as illegal agents harassed innocent residents.
Ekeoma said the era of impunity and negligence in the state has gone, and sanity has been restored, stressing that the present government has gotten rid of most of the illegal levies.
“The multiple revenue agents that littered our neighbourhoods have disappeared. The harassment, intimidation, and humiliation from revenue agents that were common practice in our homes, markets, schools, churches, and streets have disappeared.”
Ekeoma, however, said it does not mean there are no isolated cases of fraudsters trying to defraud residents with fake demand notices, but that government has made that difficult, if not impossible, by insisting that all payments should go to known government revenue accounts.
He said inasmuch as government is responsible and open to listening to genuine concerns from members of the public, it will not succumb to any attempt aimed at blackmailing it to abandon its legitimate demands.
