Drivers Protest Over Illegal Extortion In Igbo Etche

Commuters along Eleme Junction to Igbo Etche were left stranded at the weekend as commercial drivers plying the route staged a protest calling for government’s intervention over what they described as illegal extortion of money from drivers by hoodlums who disguised as task force in the area.
The protesters who withdrew their vehicles and services from the route, demanded for government intervention to ascertain the identity of the extortionists who claimed to be task force.
Speaking to The Tide, the spokesman of the group, John Abede lamented that in this era of unified tax regime, people were still sabotaging the State government’s efforts toward creating enabling business environment for investors by imposing illegal levies and taxes. He urged the state government to act fast to check the illegal activities of the hoodlums before they would scare investors away from the state.
According to him, “we pay different type of levies and tickets in addition to the government’s Internal Revenue Service tax. We were initially asked not to pay any other ticket except that of the RIRS at the time it was introduced, but to our greatest surprise, multiple taxations started resurrecting, now we pay Etche Local Government Area ticket, we pay Obio/Akpor Local Government Area ticket, when you drive down to Eleme junction to offload and load. Also, we pay another one called chairman’s levy, N100 per trip as well as executioners money – N100 per trip too”.
Another commercial driver, Ibe Izuchukwu, said, “These illegal levies are collected by force from buses, taxi and Keke drivers plying that route, and if you refuse, you will be brutalised and some times, they will break your vehicle’s rear light or windscreen.
“We are, therefore, calling on government to come and verify and authenticate the impostors who indiscriminately extorting money from the drivers in addition to the RIRS tax and police usual toll”.