A N3000 levy slammed against every taxable adult in Imo state has stirred tension
Governor Rochas Okorocha has handed a taxpayers ledger to all traditional rulers in Imo state
Indigenes of the state has condemned the development levey, labeling it as unjust
Emerging reports suggest that tension is brewing in the 644 autonomous communities in Imo state, following the planned implementation of the N3,000 Development Levy slammed on every taxable adult.
Imo state governor Rochas Okorocha has levied every taxable adult in the state, N3000.
Governor Rochas Okorocha has handed over what a traditional ruler called “Taxpayers Ledger,” to all the recognized royal fathers in the state.
Vanguard reports that apart from from being used as tax collectors, “the state government would use the performance of the traditional rulers, in the assigned duty, to grade them”.
Strong feelers emanating from the communities yesterday, indicated that “most of the royal fathers are now under serious threat from their subjects.” In his reaction, Chief Blessing Osuagwu, an indigene of Umunachi Obowo, not only condemned the imposition of the latest tax by government, but also said its “a direct way of pitching the traditional rulers against their subjects.”
His words: “There is tension in the land occasioned by the biting economic recession. People find it difficult to feed or meet their daily domestic demands. The poverty is so pervasive that no one is capable of giving helping hand to one’s relatives.”
In a similar vein, the Imo state government (ISG) yesterday, affirmed that it deliberately abandoned the mountain of smelly refuse along the ever busy Douglas Road, Owerri, to get back at the indigenes who have been fighting the administration.
Governor Rochas Okorocha’s Chief Press Secretary, CPS, Mr Samuel Onwuemeodo, made the disclosure during an early morning public accountability phone-in programme anchored by Hot 99.5 FM, Owerri.
“Government deliberately abandoned the refuse along Douglas Road, Owerri, to get back at Owerri people who have been battling the state government, over the relocation of the market”, Onwuemeodo said.
The Governor’s CPS, who poured invectives on the leadership and indigenes of Owerri municipality, also fumed that “Owerri people must be made to understand that they cannot eat their cake and have it.”
He further explained that “there is a court order restraining government from tampering with the market and this also explains why we left the refuse.”
Most of the citizens who called into the programme, described the abandonment of the huge refuse as “a damnable plot to inflict hardship and disease on the people and not to respect a court order.”
A caller, who simply identified himself as Amanze, wondered why and how a government should deliberately hoist pain and disease on its people, in a democracy.
“From what the Governor’s Press Secretary has said, it is now very clear that the palpable hatred which Owerri people have been complaining about is real,” Amanze said.
While recalling that Owerri used to be the cleanest city in Nigeria, Amanze, however, said that “the Governor must hate Owerri so much to allow this level of devastation and dirt in the city.”
Meanwhile, Rochas has said that his Deputy, Eze Madumere will not succeed him as the next Governor of the state, even as he said that those who will assume the leadership of the state in 2019 will be politicians who are “rescue mission compliant.”
Okorocha spoke yesterday at Concord Hotel, Owerri, during the launch of the book written by Mr Peter Clever titled: Eze Madumere: A True Manifestation of a Loyal Prince.” He said: “I have not decided who will be the next Governor of Imo state. I want to also tell you that, this is not a launch for a path for Madumere as the incoming governor of the state. I want to say this before you start to distort the political landscape of Imo state.
“But he is my son in whom I am well pleased. I have confidence in him. The joy of an aging father is to see the son rising.”
Also speaking at the book launch, the Kano state governor, Abdulahi Umar Ganduje, has advised his counterpart Governor Rochas Okorocha, to desist from listening to sycophants if he wants to go far in governance.
“ For you as a governor to succeed in the affairs of governance, you must shun sycophants. Sycophancy is a deadly disease in government. It is HIV in governance.”
On his opinion about the Deputy Governor of Imo State, Prince Eze Madumere, he said: “I congratulate you for being loyal to your governor and also for the confidence the governor reposes in you.”
However, he said that deputy governors should act according to the situation they found themselves and not to engage in any activity that would undermine the relationship they have with their superiors.
“With what we have seen today, you have helped and are still helping to move Imo state forward. I am happy that, what has been written is an honest contribution of the deputy governor to the development of the entire state. The subject of the book has portrayed your loyalty to the governor,” he said.
Also speaking at the book launch, a lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Adeniyi Akintola said that the Imo state governor, Rochas Okorocha, snatched the state from political “hyenas.”
“Okorocha snatched the patrimony of Imo State from political hyenas who are busy feeding their stomach,” adding that, he could go ahead in explaining how Okorocha started with his deputy. “ I consider it as a great honour to come and chair the occasion of a book launch written in honour of the Deputy Governor of Imo state, Prince Eze Madumere,” he said.
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