Traders, drivers protest in Enugu over taxes, fuel prices

Hundreds of commercial transporters, including tricycle operators and mini-bus drivers, alongside traders, on Wednesday protested in Enugu State capital over what they described as multiple taxation and excessive levies imposed on them by government agencies. The protesters blocked major roads around Ogbete Main Market, Old Park and Holy Ghost areas of the city, disrupting vehicular movement as they expressed anger over the increasing cost of operating their businesses amid rising fuel prices. It was gathered that the cost of a liter of fuel in Enugu State capital is between N1450 and N1500 as of Wednesday morning. Sources at the protest ground said that police officers and other government officials were at the scene negotiating with the protesters in an attempt to reopen the roads and restore movement in the affected areas and ensure it does not spread to other parts of the state capital. The demonstration came amid growing complaints from traders, transporters and other informal-sector operators over taxes and levies imposed by different government agencies. The Executive Chairman of the Enugu State Internal Revenue Service, Ekene Nnamani, had previously said the state government had introduced a harmonised payment system designed to eliminate multiple collections from businesses and commercial transport operators. Speaking during a stakeholders' sensitisation programme on Nigeria's new tax law hosted by the African Heritage Institution in collaboration with the Enugu State Internal Revenue Service, Nnamani said the state had consolidated several levies into single payments. According to him, market operators were previously subjected to collections by different agencies, including the Enugu State Waste Management Authority, local governments, the Ministry of Trade and market unions. He said the government subsequently introduced a N36,000 annual package for market operators, which he said covers several obligations, including presumptive tax, ESWAMA levy, local government market storage, business premises and signage fees, as well as market union dues. Nnamani also said the harmonisation had been extended to the transport sector, where commercial operators previously faced collections at different local government areas while moving around the state. He said the government introduced an electronic ticketing system under which transport operators pay once, with the money automatically distributed among the relevant agencies and organisations. According to Nnamani, the system generated N7.4billion for the state from the informal sector in the previous year, compared with less than N100million that he said the state previously collected from that sector annually. He described the system as an effective revenue-collection mechanism and said the new tax law was also designed to address the multiplicity of levies. However, commercial drivers have continued to complain about the financial burden imposed on their operations. It was previously reported that tricycle and mini-bus operators in Enugu accused the state government of repeatedly increasing taxes and fees imposed on commercial transporters. The drivers alleged that daily transport taxes had increased from N350 to N1,000 within 20 months. They also accused government officials and transport unions of collecting additional payments through park-and-pay charges, emblems and other levies, as well as imposing fines on drivers who fail to pay their taxes before noon. One of the drivers, Michael Chieze, claimed there are about 30,000 tricycles and 30,000 mini-buses operating in Enugu State, arguing that any policy that forces them out of business would affect hundreds of thousands of people who depend on the sector. Another driver, Chimezie Kingsley, accused transport unions of failing to adequately protect their members from what he described as excessive taxation and exploitation. The drivers called on the state government to review the taxes and levies imposed on commercial transporters and assess the impact of its transportation policies on operators and their dependants. The latest protest has further highlighted the tension between the Enugu State government's drive to increase internally generated revenue and complaints from businesses and informal-sector operators over the cost of complying with the state's revenue-collection system. While the state revenue service maintains that its harmonisation programme was introduced to eliminate multiple taxation and make payments easier, transporters and traders have continued to raise concerns about the cumulative financial pressure they face in running their businesses.