ANAMBRA, Nigeria – The Anambra State Government issued a stern warning on Tuesday, May 23, 2023, to traditional rulers, presidents-general, and community leaders who have been implicated in revenue diversion, promising to arrest and prosecute any involved in such activities.
During a press conference at the Revenue House, Richard Madiebo, the chairman of the Anambra State Internal Revenue Service, expressed his frustration at the prevalent role of traditional leaders in facilitating the release of detained revenue offenders, often referred to as “their boys”.
“The government will no longer tolerate criminality by proxy,” Madiebo stated unequivocally, making it clear that all Internal Generated Revenue, IGR, must be deposited into the government coffers, not the private accounts of community leaders or presidents-general.
Alongside top government officials, Madiebo reaffirmed the government’s longstanding proscription of all forms of touting in the state.
He noted his concern over the reappearance of revenue touts across Anambra, dismissing claims that the government had leased revenue collection windows to private entities as “blatant lies.”
Madiebo elaborated: “Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo has suspended all revenue windows in the interim due to the significant abuses. P
eople became a law onto themselves, with numerous groups transforming into self-proclaimed enforcement teams.”
Officially sanctioned enforcement teams – Ochabrigade, ANJET, ARTMA, and VIOs for motor vehicles – have been established, said Madiebo, but no empowerment has been granted to local governments, communities, or individuals to form their own enforcement teams or to collect money.
However, he assured the public that government agents were working diligently to apprehend and penalize the culprits.
Patricia Igwebuike, the state commissioner for Transport, emphasized that every commercial bus operator should be enumerated for accurate taxation.
All payments, she said, should be made digitally, rather than in cash.
Igwebuike announced the forthcoming operation of the state revenue courts and indicated that traditional rulers and presidents-general have played a significant role in illegal revenue collections throughout the state.
She reminded these leaders that government-generated revenue is the primary source of funding for building roads and other social amenities in their respective communities.
The Tuesday press conference, full of stern warnings and clear expectations, underscored Anambra’s firm commitment to curbing revenue diversion and promoting transparency in taxation.
