By PAMELA EBOH, Awka

Chairman of the Anambra State Board of Internal Revenue Service, Dr David Nzekwe, has said that the agency would henceforth operate under canopies and tents pending when remedial work is carried out on its offices.

He said that the destruction of the property will not deter the members of staff from carrying out their official duties.

The property was ravaged and destroyed by hoodlums disguising as #EndSARS protesters during the nationwide protests.

Conducting officials of the Anambra State Project Management and Monitoring Unit round the remains of the vandalised Revenue House in Awka at the weekend, the Chairman said they also run online services saying that there was no cause for alarm.

Nzekwe stated: “The Revenue House was a victim of the #EndSARS vandalism. Vehicles were set ablaze and the office building itself was also set on fire.

“It was the timely intervention of some staff of the agency who were around that put the inferno under control before the arrival of the fire service men. Most worrisome was that a significant part of the working assets were looted.

“We have already created a makeshift office. We have some of our teams located at Ministry of Lands. We have another office at the Gaming Board. We will also provide canopies here and we will continue to serve the public pending when we sort things out.

“We have restored normalcy already. All our services are available. If anyone wants tax clearance certificate, ANSSID number or tax assessment, we provide all services and there will be no disruption at all.”

He regretted that what seemed to have been a peaceful protest was hijacked by some other groups who don’t mean well for the country and some properties were destroyed across the country.

On his part, the Director-General of Anambra State Project Management and Monitoring Office, Mr. Obumneme Akunyili, described the attack on the Revenue House as really devastating being one of the infrastructure heartbeats of the state.

While noting that the office complex was completely ransacked and reduced to rubble, making it a huge setback, he described the Chairman as resilient with determination to move forward.

He insisted that burning the Revenue House and other properties would not solve the agitations

Meanwhile, Governor Willie Obiano has visited the Revenue House for a first hand assessment of the damage done to the building by the hoodlums.