Commercial tricycle drivers have protested the state government’s implementation of a N15,000 monthly levy in Awka, the capital of Anambra State.
The operators complained about how the OCHA Brigade, a civil security organization in the state, and its agents, who were deployed to enforce the payment, harassed their members constantly.
Many people were left stranded since the operators, including shuttle bus drivers, refused to transport passengers during the protest.
They carried signs that expressed their suffering due to the high tax.
Soludo intends to kill us, according to some of the signs. We reject Soludo. “We cannot pay N15,000,” “We are leasing,” “I am the family’s sole provider, N15,000 is too costly,” and other similar statements were made.
The timing of the enforcement, according to one of the operators who went by the name Ajebo, is abrupt and inconvenient for them.
“The administration is causing us a great deal of suffering and misery. I am the driver of the hired purchase and am liable for all expenses. The amount of taxation is excessive, he declared.
The situation left a lot of individuals in the capital city today unable to adhere to their timetables.
According to pressloaded, several inhabitants of the capital city were unable to keep their appointments as a result of the development, while many others were seen walking about the city in protest.
The Soludo administration had previously introduced a new tax regime that grants monthly payments of N15,000 to all tricycle operators, as opposed to the daily payments, which they claimed were fraudulently collected and totaled more than N1,000.
As of the time of filing this report, police operatives had dispersed the protesters who made bonfires on several roads in the city, while many had been arrested.
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