From Noah Ocheni, Lokoja
The Acting Chairman of Kogi State Internal Revenue Service KGIRS, Sule Salihu Enehi on Wednesday in Lokoja said that Kogi state governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello has no business in the Tax clearance and advertisement of political parties Billboard charges in the state.
Enehi made the clarification at a press briefing while refuting some social media insinuations of an allegation that governor Yahaya Bello sent his revenue men to intimidate other political parties in the state.
The Chairman pointed out that any action of the revenue service has a constitutional backing, saying “Section 85 (2) of Personal Income Tax, 2021 as amended, vest the power to verify tax clearance certificate in the issuing tax authority”.
He disclosed that obtaining a tax clearance through misrepresentation, forgery, falsification, according to the law is guilty of an offence and such offender is liable for prosecution.
“The Kogi state government through the state house of assembly passed the law tagged “Kogi state of Nigeria a law to provide for the regulation of outdoor structures for the display of signage , hoarding and advertisements in Kogi state and for other matters connected therewith 2022”
The acting chairman who stated that the law was assented to by Governor Yahaya Bello in September, 2022, noted that the law empowered KGIRS to enforce it.
“Therefore for any body or organization to come out now and claim that Kogi state governor Alhaji Yahaya Bello brought the law to witch-hunt opposition parties in the state is Void and far from truth” he said.
