The director of road tax in the Rivers State Board of Internal Revenue (BIR), Mr Utchay Agiri, has been detained by the zone six of the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) Calabar, for engaging in activities that is contrary to the Rivers State commercial motorcycle operators law number five of 2001.

The Tide gathered that the road tax director, without consultation with the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and the authorities of the state ministry of transport as provided by the law, went on to commission/empower his agents to collect tax/rates from the motorcycle branch of the NURT operating in Local Government Areas where ‘Okada’ has been banned.

Not happy with the steps taken by Mr Agiri, the NURTW made moves to quash the director’s decision through the appropriate authorities, that led to the arrest and detention of Utchay by the police detailed from Zone Six, Calabar. It would be recalled that section 6 (1) of the Rivers State Commercial Motor cycle law provides that the appropriate government agency in consultation with the trade union shall collect from persons riding commercial motorcycle the road levy payable daily and the environmental sanitation sticker fee payable yearly, while sub-section two stipulates that the levies and fees payable shall be fixed by the Board of Internal Revenue.

Sub-section three of the law stipulates that the appropriate government agency means the ministry of transport in the case of a road levy, and the environmental sanitation authority in the case of sanitation sticker fee.   

Speaking to The Tide on the matter the NURTW, motorcycle branch chairman, Chief  S.O Chukwu said the union is not happy with the action of  Mr. Utchay, who did not follow the guideline, but went on to collect revenue from its members which the law does not empower him to do so.

He pointed out that such action is illegal and fraudulent for extorting monies from NURTW members, which resulted to petitioning to Zone Six of the police in calabar, adding that Utchay was arrested and detained at the SOS in Port Harcourt, and was later summoned to Calabar, before his release after much pleading from him.

Chief Chukwu said the matter will take another shape because the union is heading to the law court because of Utchay’s actions on the motorcyclists.

However, when The Tide called on the road tax director, Mr Utchay, he said that all that has happened to him was a frame – up, pointing out that, he was arrested by the police on his way to lunch on the faithful day.

He said that his arrest was like a kidnap by the police, and that he was detained at the state fire for fire, and was later asked to report to Calabar.

Mr Utchay said that if there is anything he has done wrong, that his boss will be the one to querry him, because he is under authority, adding that the collection of tax by the BIR from motorcyclist did not start from him.

He also pointed out that NURTW had come to reconcile with him, but NURTW boss, has denied such reconciliation, Utchay claimed. 

Corlins Walter