Enugu State House of Assembly yesterday passed the State Harmonised Taxes and Levies Bill aimed to streamline taxes and levies collected in the state.
Leading a debate before its passage in Enugu, the Majority Leader of the House, Hon Iloabuchi Aniagu, said the bill would make the Enugu State Internal Revenue Service ,ESIRS, to be in charge of collecting taxes.
Aniagu noted that the current administration was doing everything possible to give the state a face-lift, hinting that it could only be achieved through collection of taxes.
While noting that no society can develop without taxation, the lawmaker added that the legislation tend to make the Enugu State Internal Revenue Service ,ESIRS, to be in charge of collecting taxes
He further disclosed that the bill would stop the menace of road blocks by touts, which was described as a serious issue in the state.
Another lawmaker, Hon Malachy Onyechi, revealed that the bill when implemented would stop people from evading tax in the state.
Onyechi regretted that many people who evade taxes wanted the government to provide basic amenities in their communities, and wondered where the government would get the money from to provide the amenities.
According to him, it would strengthen confidence of investors to invest in the state, knowing full well that their investments will be safe.
Also, Hon. Obiajulu Ugwu, pointed out that the bill was an indication that the state government had not only heard the cries of the masses but determined to find a solution to it.
She argued that the issue of multiple taxation was affecting the image of the state government and also providing an avenue for the opposition to criticise and attack the government.
The lawmaker stressed that the bill would end needless extortion by different Ministries, Departments and Agencies ,MDAs.
Speaking shortly after the passage of the bill, the Speaker of the House, Chief Uche Ugwu, reiterated that the eight assembly was determined to sanitise the tax system in the state.
Ugwu maintained that the assembly would not fold its hands and watch greedy individuals impose hardship on the people or allow their constituents to suffer under the guise of tax collection.
The speaker stressed that the passed bill was not targeted at group or individual but to restore sanity in the collection of taxes and levies in the state.
INEC Not In Breach Of Any Court Order – NRM National Chairman
National Chairman of National Rescue Movement, NRM, Dr Chinedu Obi, says the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, is in full compliance with all judicial rulings concerning the party’s leadership crisis.
Chinedu Obi, at a news conference at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja on Wednesday, dismissed claims of a breach by INEC as “blackmail” by those he called “serial forum shoppers”.
He condemned any attempt to unlawfully hijack the party’s leadership through the courts, maintaining that INEC had remained professionally aligned with the rule of law.
“INEC is fully in compliance with the judgment of the Federal High Court. The party dissociates itself from allegations of non-compliance being circulated by mischief makers”, Obi said.
He traced the crisis within the party to September 2024 when a former chairman, Isaac Udeh, was suspended for alleged anti-party activities.
Obi alleged that Udeh subsequently conspired with Mr Edozie Njoku, a former factional chairman of APGA, to destabilise NRM despite Njoku’s removal from APGA by the Supreme Court.
He said the duo attempted an unauthorised “Emergency National Convention” on Jan. 17, 2025 which INEC declined to monitor for failing to meet constitutional guidelines.
“In compliance with a subsequent court order, the party notified INEC of its valid convention held on April 14, 2025 which the commission monitored and recognised,” he explained.
Obi argued that Njoku was constitutionally ineligible to lead NRM, as he was still parading himself as APGA chairman as recent as November 2024 and had not been granted a membership waiver by NRM.
He commended INEC’s Election and Party Monitoring, EPM, department for resisting intimidation and expressed confidence in the new INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan.
He said that the party was aware that Njoku and his team instituted contempt proceedings against the former INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, claiming disobedience of a court order.
“We understand that the immediate past chairman of the commission firmly resisted this intimidation and robustly defended the institutional integrity of INEC.
“Fortunately, the new INEC chairman is a man of integrity and cannot be intimidated by resurrected contempt proceedings”,00he said.
Obi urged the Chief Justice of Nigeria ,CJN, to caution judicial officers against litigants boasting of influence over the courts.
Responding to questions on the new Electoral Act, Obi expressed concern over provisions compelling parties to use consensus or direct primaries for candidate selection.
On the requirement to submit a membership register for the 2027 elections, Obi said that NRM had already digitized its register.
“NRM is one of the parties to carry out digital registration. We are currently meeting with the Inter-Party Advisory Council, IPAC, to harmonise a position on the new Act”he said.
