Emmanuel Oluwakorede
In a bid to curb the challenges of illegal road blocks in the name of tax collection, Kogi State Government has flagged off the collection of Drivers and Conductors badges, Commercial Vehicle Colour Exceptional Permit and Mobile Hawkers’ License (trade permit) in Kogi State.
This followed the approval by government for a Consultant, Dansavist Multi Concept through the State Internal Revenue Service to drive the revenue accruing to the State in the Transport Sector.
Speaking in a message to the ceremony attended by Stakeholders in the Road Transport Sector, the Commissioner for Transportation, Hon. Atuluku Victor Levi, said the move was to promote safety and orderliness on roads across the State.
Represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Alh. Abuh Omale, the Commissioner noted that the flag off, which is a milestone in restoring sanity to tax collection on roads, will ensure proper identification of practitioners in view of the insecurity challenges in the country.
He appealed to relevant stakeholders and road users to support the programme so as to also increase the revenue generation of the State to enable government carryout more developmental projects.
In his remarks, the Consultant, Prince Olaitan Dada, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Dansavist Multi Concept, noted that the move which is in line with both National and State traffic laws and the harmonisation of States and Local Government schedule to taxes and levies gazette, will eliminate illegal taxation in the State.
Prince Dada further said “illegal tax collection and multiple taxations have long been a challenge for transporters and businesses operating both within and transporters passing through Kogi State roads. These issues hinder the ease of doing business and lead to inflated costs for transportation, particularly affecting the agricultural sector.”
He maintained that “to address these problems, the Kogi State Internal Revenue Service in collaboration with the Ministry of Transportation in conjunction with the State Security Agencies has constituted a special taskforce.”
The MD/CEO noted that the newly initiated policy and constitutional revenue is already being practiced and implemented in up to 12 States; including Kwara, Ekiti, Osun, Oyo, Nassarawa, Kebbi and Edo States.
According to him, apart from elimination of illegal road taxes, the move will ensure reduction of incidence of double taxation and sanitizing the road tax implementation and enforcement system, restore the integrity of the road tax collection process and ensure that all collections are remitted appropriately to Kogi State Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) Bank Account.
The Chairman of Kogi State Internal Revenue Service, Alh. Sule Salihu Enehe in his speech, commended the Commissioner for Transportation for creating an enabling environment for the exercise ofto take off, assuring of the full support of the Agency.
Represented by Mr. John Salifu, the KGIR Boss reiterated that the ban on illegal road blocks in the name of revenue collection is still in place, adding the Agency will intensify efforts to block every revenue leakage in the State.
On his part, the State Chief Vehicle Inspection Officer, Ahmed Dauda Enesi said as the implementing Agency of the exercise, hia officers and men are ready to ensure one hundred percent enforcement.
He added that apart from the fact that the badges will be given to only drivers and conductors with Drivers Licence, pointing out that the programme is a calculated attempt to improve transportation in the State.
Speaking on behalf of Drivers, the Vice Chairman, Nigeria Union of Road Transport Workers, Alhaji Danladi Ibrahim described the exercise as a welcome development and promised their maximum support to ensure its success.
Alhaji Danladi lauded the State Government for carrying them along in decision making, describing it as first of its kind in the history of the State.
