By Jude Opara, Abuja
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prince Paul Ikonne has once more challenged Governor Alex Otti to come clean with the very schools he claimed that his government spent a whopping N54b to renovate.
Prince Ikonne also condemned strongly the unbearable hardship allegedly being meted out to traders in Aba, the commercial hub of Abia state under the administration of Gov. Otti, describing the current level of taxation as insensitive, exploitative, and destructive to the commercial lifeline of the country.
“Up till now, the questions over the whereabouts of the ₦54 billion Governor Otti claimed to have spent on renovating 51 schools that cannot be found anywhere, and the ₦7 billion allegedly spent on recreational centres that do not still have not been answered.
“Governor Otti, fear God and show us the 51 schools you claimed to have renovated with ₦54 billion.”
Speaking through his Chief Press Secretary, Dr. Ujo Justice, while addressing stakeholders including some market leaders, Ikonne noted that Aba is being crippled by the harsh tax policies of Gov. Otti.
Further more, the APC chieftain in a statement circulated in Abuja, said traders in Ariaria International Market, who previously paid ₦18,000 per shop yearly, are now forced to pay over ₦36,000.
“With more than 88,000 shops in Ariaria alone, this translates to an outrageous ₦3.1 billion annually. The same story of pain and suffocation is playing out at Ekeoha Shopping Centre, Timber Market, and other trading clusters in Aba”.
Ikonne asked: “Why should Aba traders—the very heartbeat of commerce in southern Nigeria be strangled by such reckless and selfish-driven taxation?”
He further condemned the total abandonment of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the previous administration, which guaranteed traders the right to reclaim their shops after remodeling.
“That agreement has been thrown into oblivion, leaving traders displaced, frustrated, and at the mercy of government manipulation. A people-centered administration should protect the interest of its traders, not betray them,” Ikonne argued.
Ikonne also wondered why the Otti government is asking traders in Ariaria to pay as high as ₦15 million to re-acquire their shops after remodeling, describing it as an anti-trader policy that adds untold hardship and suffering.
According to him, the monthly federal allocation of over ₦30 billion to Abia State and over N100 million received by the Local Government is more than enough to provide modern, well-equipped markets with necessary amenities such as power supply, potable water, fire service stations, and security—without over taxing the traders.
“There is no justification for squeezing Aba traders dry when government has the financial capacity to build these markets and still provide essential infrastructure. This ₦15 million shop fee and ₦36,000 annual revenue levy are wicked, exploitative, and not in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which is designed to water the ground for the masses and ease the burden of doing business,” he declared.
