Kogi IRS threatens crackdown on illegal revenue collectors, extortionists

Credit: NAN

The Kogi Internal Revenue Service (KGIRS) has warned illegal revenue collectors to stop their activities, or risk arrest.

Alhaji Sule Enehe, Executive Chairman of the KGIRS, gave the warning during an interactive session with newsmen in Lokoja.

“The activities of illegal revenue collectors is becoming worrisome in spite of repeated warnings. We are going all out for those illegal revenue collectors across the state.

“Those involved in this unconstitutional act have to stop  or face the full wrath of the law.

“This is because we are aware that some individuals hide under the cover of transport unions to collect certain illegal levies from motorcycle and tricycle operators.

“They usually block the roads in places like Adankolo junction, suya junction near the federal university Lokoja, first 200 housing unit junction, old market among other places within Lokoja Metropolis and the LGAs,” he lamented.

The KGSIRS chairman said that the service would continue to block all leakages in the system in order to boost revenue generation of the state .

According to him, perpetrators of the illegal act will soon be apprehended and prosecuted in accordance with the existing laws of the land.

The chairman maintained that collection of revenue due for Kogi was the statutory function of KGIRS as spelt out by the law.

”We will show no mercy to those involved in the illegal activities.

“We will not rest until we rid the state of illegal tax collectors because their actions and activities are already posing security threat to the state.

“The law for revenue collection in Kogi State is very clear to every body and we don’t expect any union to be collecting revenue meant for government, it is illegal and we are appealing to the security agencies in the state to assist us so that we can continually clampdown heavily on them.

On the implementation of the Land Use Charged Law, Enehe said that the law would pave way for better infrastructure, improved public services and a greater future for the people of Kogi.

He said that when fully implemented, it could foster data-driven decision making, pave the way for the development of smart cities and jobs creation in the state.

The chairman said that the service does not want anything to affect the 2025  Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) target of N39 billion.

He said that the state government was doing all it can to provide the desired social amenities such as water, roads, electricity, schools and health care centres for the people of the state.