By Justus Adetomiwa

Commercial tricycle operators, popularly known as Keke riders, in Anambra State have petitioned the State House of Assembly over what they described as an unbearable burden of multiple taxation imposed on them despite directives from Governor Chukwuma Soludo.

The operators, who stormed the Assembly complex in Awka, lamented that various individuals claiming to be government enforcement officers extort them daily in defiance of the governor’s pronouncement on levies.

Chairman of the Tricycle Riders Association, Mr Chidozie Okafor, while addressing the House Committee on Public Petitions, disclosed that their previous appeals to the Commissioner for Transport had yielded no results, forcing them to seek legislative intervention.

According to Okafor, each tricycle operator pays a minimum of N2,400 daily to unauthorised persons who parade themselves as government agents, in addition to the official weekly levy of N2,000 sanctioned by the governor.

Corroborating his claims, the Secretary of the association, Comrade Johnson Eze, decried the resurgence of touts despite complaints to the government’s Anti-Tout Agency. He alleged that arrested suspects often return to their activities within a day, leaving riders at their mercy.

The petitioners, therefore, urged the lawmakers to take decisive action to curb the extortion and ensure their safety while operating in the state.

However, a representative of the Anambra State Internal Revenue Service (ASIRS), who appeared before the Committee, denied any official knowledge of the illegal levies being collected in the name of the government.

Also speaking, the Commissioner for Transport, Mrs Patricia Igwebuike, expressed surprise at the development, claiming ignorance of the multiple taxations. She struggled to explain why her office had not acted on the numerous complaints filed by the riders.

Presiding over the session, the Chairman of the Committee, Mr Obi Nweke, noted that most of the receipts presented by the operators bore Anambra State Government’s insignia but carried the names of different local government areas.

Consequently, the Committee adjourned the hearing to summon the Chairmen of the affected local government areas for further clarifications and necessary action.