The Civil Liberties Organization (CLO), South East Zone, has written the Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano, over issue of levies, double taxation, extortion and daylight brigandage in Onitsha all in the name of pursuing Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) for the state, lamenting that this is affecting commercial activities in the state.

In the letter signed by its Zonal Chairman, Comrade Aloysius Attah, the rights group cited the plight of the traders at the Uba Planks and Joints Ltd (UPJA), (Ogbo Osisi) and the Amalgamated Timber Dealers Association (ATDA), all at the Bridge Head axis of Onitsha who recently sent a Save-our-Soul distress message to Governor Obiano over the multiple levies.

It observed that there is no clear cut distinction between local government revenue and the state revenue agency adding that the ministries of transport, agriculture, environment and commerce have no defined terms of payment of levies while the citizenry are not educated or informed of any accredited revenue agent for the state, local government or ministries.

The rights group urged the state government to urgently address the anomalies even as it stressed that the multifarious revenue collectors have not only portrayed the image of the state in a very negative light but have also scared away many business operators from coming into Onitsha.

“We are not talking about the cart riders, tricycles, and other traders across different markets who are not only forced to pay as they convey goods within the market but are also molested along the road if they are doing intra-transport conveyance of those goods.

“While we know it as a fact that government has to pursue its internally generated revenue in order to meet up with its fiscal obligations instead of relying on the monthly federal allocations, it is a different ball game entirely if such revenue drive is done in so much duplicity and in an inhuman way.

“The situation has led to a case of the jungle where might is right while the traders and the citizens are forced to bear the brunt of such anomalies even as government is also crying about diversion of revenue and activities of fake revenue agents,” the group lamented.

According to CLO, traders had lamented the excess expenses they incur on their goods within Onitsha while conveying them from Sapele where they normally source for them.

It noted that the accumulated charges from different government revenue agents is crippling their business.