The Abia State Government under the leadership of His Excellency, Dr. Alex Chioma Otti, has approved the establishment of the newly reformed Abia State Harmonized Revenue Enforcement Team (AHARET) as a task force to ensure compliance for all revenue collections in the state. Disclosing this to the media during a press conference held at the conference room of the Board of Internal Revenue (BIR) at Umuahia, recently, the Special Adviser to the governor on Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), Mr. Chimeze Okeigbo, stated that AHARET has been approved by the governor as a social mechanism to drive compliance around revenue collection, anti-touting and illegal revenue collection.
He informed the press that they just finished a meeting with all transport unions operating in the state and other stakeholders like the leadership of the Okada unions across the state, the leadership of Aba taxi drivers’ welfare union, tricycle operators and other stakeholders on how to partner with government and ensure that all the necessary collectables are collected. Okeigbo disclosed that the government is not collecting taxes but a contribution that is meant to be paid by every commercial transport operator that is operating in the state to the government, basically referred to as permit to operate and it comes with daily or periodic payment options for everybody.
While stating that the people leading the enforcement team include Special Advisers, Senior Special Assistants, and other government officials, he also confirmed that all necessary compliance check is being done in the face of the law to ensure that people complied with what they are doing. Okeigbo who explained that Revenue collection was not banned or suspended in the state added that what the governor said was that people should stop harassing transport operators and should not make any payment to anybody till he comes up with a system that is more structured to collect revenues.
He pointed out that a payment process that is very effective, more refined and friendly where people can be making their payments has been deployed by the government as promised. The IGR boss noted that compliance level to revenue payment has been low as the ban on transport collection has been lifted and pleaded with the transport unions to support the move and pressurize their union members to make the contributions they are supposed to make to the government.
“Contracting of revenue is a thing of the past, we are not contracting our revenue, people have the duty to pay themselves, you can pay from your mobile phone through your bank account directly or go directly to the agents on the street and make your payments”, Okeigbo further stated. Enumerating the benefits of the new revenue payment platform, the SA on IGR disclosed that there will be free medical insurance for anyone that will comply 100% with the government directives in terms of payment, there is also convenience of payment as there are daily, weekly and monthly payment options.
Abia State Special Adviser on Internally Generated Revenue, Mr. Chimezie Okeigo and the Senior Special Assistant on Special Duties, Dr. George Chidozie during the press conference.
He further explained that each of the payment options has its benefits as there are discounted amounts and levels in the number of days one needs to pay. “The most important thing is that the state is insisting that every transport operator would have to do a biometric enumeration that will give you an identity card and a sticker that is all biometric-enabled, so this is the first step, you need to have this done so that you will be on-board into the payment platform”, he further disclosed.
Explaining further how the new system operates, the Governor’s Aide said that as payments are made in the system, the payment amount, union and the location you operate are captured to ensure that whatever accrues in the system according to the category of your vehicle will be collected so that nobody will be able to manipulate the system. He also said that a code will be given which is the Abia pay account number and that if the payment is successful, an alert will be received which will be used as part of evidence of payment to operate. “Another thing is that whatever you pay for the day lasts for the whole day. It is just a single payment for the whole day. If you make payment for a month, you paid for a period of 22 days but that will last for the whole 30 days which is a month. It also comes with a discount which is almost half of what you pay daily”, he explained further.
Okeigbo, however, charged the union leaders to ensure that their members do not block the public roads but go into the park to load their vehicles as transport operators will not pay any other thing except the normal daily operation permit when they load in any government park. Transport operators were also advised not to pay to any agent that was not introduced by their union leaders, also, for vehicles that come into the state, there are location points where payments can be made, there is also a taxpayer experience centre, a WhatsApp and phone number that is available to do a level of verification before making payment.
The operational permit fees as approved by the governor showed that Keke operators in the state will pay #300 daily, #1,500 and #4,400 weekly and monthly respectively if paid at once as a bullet payment. For inter-state vehicles, that is vehicles coming into the state, depending on the category- minibuses, trucks, trailers etc., are to pay #550 daily and a discounted rate of #3000 and #9,900 for weekly and monthly payment if paid at once.
In his remark, the Senior Special Assistant on Special Duties to the Governor, Dr. George Chidozie, reiterated that revenue collection in the state has begun and the press conference was meant to educate road transport unions, the general public, Abia residents and all those involved in revenue generation and collection that the state now has a unified and harmonized taskforce to ensure that all government revenues are paid into a single account made available by the state government. He pointed out that the new process makes it possible to have the entire revenue deposited into the purse of the state government. Dr. Chidozie also said that they are running a campaign to educate the general public on everything that has to do with revenue.
“The revenue cuts across every facet of our economic value chain and not just peculiar to road transport operators alone, but also that of market unions”, he stated.
He disclosed that harmonized AHARET has to do with all revenue generation and collection and that the task force is being trained to avoid harassment and a departure from a situation where some set of people popularly referred to as Agberos will be chasing Keke, bus and trailer drivers which may result to accidents leading to destruction of property and loss of lives, adding that the new process is being done to curtail all that and ensure that such incidences will now become a thing of the past.
The SSA on special Duties noted that the lifeblood of every government is fund and AHARET is structured to block all loopholes, as well as ensure that revenue that is accruable to the state government gets to the purse of the state government and same is used to salvage the situation, the present government met on ground.
He pointed out that rates were reduced in some places with added benefits and incentives while assuring the motorists and the entire public that they will be better off at the end of the day, as so far, the government has shown capacity and integrity in getting things done in the state.
In his contribution, the Acting Chairman, Abia State Board of Internal Revenue Services (ABIRS), Mr. Peacebee Ukaegbu, described it as a good idea, more transparent and an improvement on the digitalization process started from the previous administration while appealing to the stakeholders to cooperate with them and give them the assistance they need to collect the revenue for the government.
In their various reactions, the Road Transport Union leaders including the Abia State Chairman, Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria, Chief Nnamdi Balogu, the state chairman, joint Okada Union, Paulinus Okoye, the joint Chairman, Aba Township Joint Bus Union, Mr. Nwankpa Christian Mark, the state Chairman, Association of Mass Transport Operators, Com. Emmanuel Ogbonna, among others, appreciated the state government for giving them the opportunity to interact with them and pledged that their members will henceforth comply with all government directives while pleading with them to work on the infrastructures in public parks.
