Enugu Petty Traders Laud Mbah For Abolishing Daily Levy Collection

Petty traders in Enugu State have commended Governor Peter Mbah over the recent suspension of daily toll collection from petty traders without lockup shops.

The traders, who spoke with LEADERSHIP in Enugu, lauded the boldness of the governor in declaring it as illegal.

A petty trader at a market on Agbani Road, Mr Obinna Maduagwu, said the governor had alleviated their sufferings and promised to support him to achieve his re-election ambitiion.

” Honestly, I cannot thank the governor enough, he has shown that he is a governor with a listening ear and also that he loves the masses, he will succeed in all his political ambitions,” he said.

Another trader at Kenyatta Market, Enugu, Mrs Amarachi Nnamani, described the decision as timely, saying some people were exploiting them through the daily toll collection

“This is the best decision because I have always been saying that our dear governor was not aware of this kind of levy. I know the governor very well because he has been helping the masses even as a businessman, so I’m happy that he came out and stopped this levy,” he stated.

LEADERSHIP recalls that after the announcement of the suspension of the daily toll collection, the Enugu State Police Command on the same day arraigned two before an Enugu Magistrate Court for stealing and forgery of receipts and illegal revenue collection for the registration of native doctors in the state.

Governor Mbah gave the order on the suspension of daily revenue collection from petty traders at a stakeholders’ meeting on the clarification and harmonisation of revenue collection in markets across the state organised by the organised by the Enugu State Internal Revenue Service at the Old Government Lodge, Enugu.

The governor, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, SSG, Prof Chidiebere Onyia, said the action was in line with the new tax laws meant to support the poor, adding that a taskforce chaired by the SSG had been put in place to ensure maximum compliance, vowing that anyone caught collecting the 100 or 200 Naira daily toll revenue, either for the government or an individual, would face the full weight of the law.