By Aluta News
April 21, 2022
The commercial tricycle operators in Minna, Niger, on Thursday protested against multiple taxation by the State and Local Government Councils.
The operators threaten to embark on strike on Thursday if the state government and the 25 local government councils did not resolve the multiple taxes paid by its members.
The operators are under aegis of the Amalgamated Commercial Tricycle and Motorcycle Owners Repairs and Riders Association of Nigeria (ACOMORAN) and the Tricycle Owners Association of Nigeria (TOAN).
The News Agency of Nigerian (NAN) reports that the protesters used their tricycles to block the major roads causing gridlock which took the intervention of the police to ensure free-flow of traffic.
Malam Adamu Aliyu, a tricycle operator told NAN during the peaceful protest that the members wanted the state government to harmonise the taxes instead of duplication.
“We were made to understand that each operator will pay N100 for operating ticket per day to the state government under the harmonisation law.
“After paying this money, the various local government councils still collect the same revenue from us.
“The cost of living now is high; we cannot afford to pay the same tax to the state government and local governments.
“We are going on strike today, if the state government fails to settle the issue with the local government councils,” he said.
Aliyu said that aside the daily operating ticket in contention, members paid the state government N2, 200 to register each tricycle.
Alhaji Mohammed Etsu, the Chairman, Niger State Internal Revenue Service said that the service, local governments, state executives of ACOMORAN and TOAN had met to resolve the issue.
“What we have been trying to do is to create a platform on the basis of harmonised revenue law passed into law by the State Assembly and accented to by Gov. Abubakar Bello in 2021.
“Things are changing today in Nigeria because people are complaining of hardship.
“Therefore, if there is anything that will bring duplication of taxes on our people, I think we should avoid it in order not to cause more hardship on them.
“This is the normal tax that the tricycle operators have been paying, but we have discussed with the stakeholders, including the local governments on why the harmonised tax has come to stay,” he explained.
Etsu said that there was an existing harmonised state and local government law with joint revenue committee of chairmen of local governments and the revenue service, representing the state government.
He noted that the committee was put together to cater for issues bordering on taxation.
“The tax is for the good of everyone and we have settled it. In the next three months, everything would have been fully regularised.
“We have a digital system whereby the owners and operators of the tricycles are registered in our system for security purpose,” he said.
Also, Alhaji Umar Ibrahim, state Public Relations Officer of TOAN said that the policy ”Niger State and Local Government Harmonisation Law 2021”, empowered the state to collect taxes from vehicles.
“Once you pay the money as an operator in any local government, you don’t need to pay the same money again when you extend your services to another local government for the day.
“When you pay, the money goes to the state government account because it is automated,” he said.
Ibrahim said that in the past, if an operator paid in a particular local government and decided to extend his service to another local government, he would pay for another operating ticket.
However, Hajiya Hauwa Mohammed, a resident of Minna told NAN that the tricycle operator that usually conveyed her children to school did not turn up this morning.
Mohammed said that after waiting for a long time, the children trekked one kilometre to school.
Meanwhile, NAN gathered from ACOMORAN office that there are over 3,000 registered tricycle operators in Minna.
NAN