Enugu was disrupted on Wednesday as hundreds of commercial transporters and market traders took to the streets to protest over taxation and rising fuel prices, with demonstrations affecting business activities and vehicular movement around major commercial areas of the state capital.
The protesters, comprising tricycle operators, minibus drivers and shop owners, blocked roads and transport hubs around Ogbete Main Market, Old Park and the Holy Ghost axis, disrupting access to parts of the city’s central commercial district.
The protesters said daily levies and other tax-related payments were putting additional pressure on their businesses at a time when fuel costs were also rising. Some transport operators alleged that their daily operational payments had increased significantly over the past 20 months.
A commercial driver who participated in the protest, Michael Chieze, said operators were being required to pay daily tickets, park fees and other charges while also dealing with higher fuel expenses. He claimed that daily operational taxes had risen from N350 to N1,000.
The protest came against the backdrop of the Enugu State Government’s ongoing tax reforms. The Executive Chairman of the Enugu State Internal Revenue Service, Ekene Nnamani, recently defended the reforms, saying the state’s informal-sector internally generated revenue had increased from less than N100 million annually to N7.4 billion following the consolidation of levies through technology.
According to the state government, its central e-ticketing system was introduced to replace multiple payments and eliminate illegal road tolls and other forms of multiple-agency collection. The system costs traders N36,000 annually, while transport operators make daily consolidated payments.
The explanation from the government contrasts with the concerns expressed by some operators, who said the financial burden of daily payments had become difficult to sustain alongside rising fuel costs.
As the protest disrupted traffic around the affected areas, police personnel and government representatives were deployed to the Ogbete-Holy Ghost corridor to engage with the protesters and help restore movement.
The demonstration reflects the continuing tension between efforts by the state government to improve internally generated revenue and concerns among some informal-sector operators about the cost of complying with taxes and levies.
For traders and commercial transporters, the immediate concern remains the effect of these costs on their daily operations, while the government maintains that its tax reforms are intended to consolidate payments and improve revenue collection.
The situation leaves the authorities and affected operators with the task of finding a balance between revenue collection and the cost of doing business as economic pressures continue to affect traders, transport workers and consumers in Enugu.
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