Residents of Kogi state have in the past two weeks persistently experienced acute network failure owing to revenue battle between the state government and telecommunication service providers over alleged revenue leakages.

The revenue war has grounded businesses and paralysed socio-economic activities in the State. Many businesses are counting losses running into millions of naira, with social activities also affected.

The epileptic services from the telecom providers came to its highest on Tuesday, April 22, when the state government shut down all the MTN bases in the state and part of the GLO network bases.

For now most banks and other businesses can hardly operate. Residents are stranded as they cannot make withdrawals or pay for services through the PoS channels that used the service providers.

Most PoS operators, another alternative source of employment for Nigerians have closed businesses. Many Businesses now demand for cash on purchase or services, with citizens lamenting the excruciating pains cause by the Government, Network Service Providers fiasco.

The Service Providers have not come out to speak on the disturbing development, so also, the State Internal Revenue Services and the Kogi State Infrastructure and Utilities Management Agency has remained mute on the issue.

For Usman Ahmed, “It is unfortunate that this problem lingers. The environment in the State is not encouraging for business even as it is expected that the service providers ought to pay their taxes, this must however be done with consideration”

According to Ojima Idakwo, a POS operator, “The time for the State to define taxes for service providers is now, because what we hear is that they (service providers) are made to pay multiple taxes, reason they are refusing to pay.”

Sunday Jacob lamented that the state government war with the service providers is a security threats to the state.

While the war between the Kogi State Government and Network Service Providers rages on, the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company seems to have joined the war on the sidelines, as power supply in the state has reduced drastically.

Many parts of the state are without light for the past three days, just as Lokoja, the state capital grappled with no water supply followed the collapsed of the Greater Lokoja Water Works last year.

The state governor, Ahmed Usman Ododo has also traveled out of the state for the past 10 days, without a word to when he will returned; and the presence of the deputy Governor, Oyibo Salifu is not felt.

While the media team of the state government had last weekend released a picture of the governor signing a contract in Hunan Province of China, that was the last heard. The governor’s whereabout since then has been shredded in secrecy. (Vanguard)