PRESS STATEMENT
29th September, 2025
ABIA TAX REFORMS: BETWEEN TRANSPARENCY AND CITIZENS’ RIGHTS
The Centre for Human Rights Advocacy and Wholesome Society (CEHRAWS) has taken due note of the press statement issued on 14th September, 2025, by the Abia State Government titled “Reclaiming Revenue, Restoring Trust: Facts on Abia’s People-First Reforms.” While we commend the clarity of presentations, as a civil rights organisation our task is to weigh such claims against constitutional guarantees, statutory obligations, and the lived realities of the people.
The Government affirms that touting has been abolished and enforcement streamlined under a single Harmonised Task Force. If true, this is consistent with Section 34 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) which protects the dignity of the human person. However, such assurances must be verified in practice. For traders, keke operators, and market women, taxation must never translate into harassment or humiliation in the streets.
Unfortunately, reports reaching us indicate that Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIO), who were widely regarded as revenue touts under the previous administration, have now resurfaced in the streets of Aba, recruited by the Ministry of Transport for aggressive revenue drives. Acting with impunity, they constitute a nuisance and grossly violate their statutory mandate, inflicting more pain and hardship on the masses. The law establishing the VIO confines their duties to motor parks and inspection points, not indiscriminate pursuit of road users on highways and junctions.
We therefore urge the Abia State Government to properly guide and restrain these officers to their lawful mandate, lest the reform narrative be undermined by the same old culture of harassment wearing new uniforms.
The implementation of the Treasury Single Account is also a welcome reform and satisfies the spirit of Section 15(5) of the Constitution which mandates the State to abolish corrupt practices and abuse of power. Yet, transparency cannot end with internal reconciliation. Citizens have the right to know the State’s income and expenditure.
We therefore call for quarterly publication of IGR inflows and utilisation reports, so that the people can track whether revenues are deployed for schools, roads, health and security.
The adoption of central billing, e-receipting, and digital channels under AbiaPay is a step toward predictability. However, the principle of inclusivity must not be overlooked. Many informal workers, rural traders, and elderly citizens remain digitally excluded. To compel them into systems they cannot access would be discriminatory and inconsistent with the duty of the State under Section 16(1)(b) of the Constitution to ensure that resources are harnessed for the common good.
Government has described its new rates as “modest” and “competitive,” but such claims are relative, not absolute. The ₦500 daily e-ticket for tricycles, though lower than the extortionist practices of the past, still represents a heavy burden where average daily earnings hover between ₦2,500 and ₦3,000. Taxation must not become confiscatory or oppressive. We also note the denial of the rumoured ₦450 million levy on filling stations, but denial alone is insufficient. Proactive publication of all approved tax and levy schedules is necessary so that citizens can verify and not merely rely on rebuttals after allegations surface.
The State further insists that no 15% of collections is ceded to Access Bank. Civil society has a duty to hold Government accountable under the Freedom of Information Act, 2011.
We therefore call on the Government to publish the contract terms with Access Bank so that the people may judge for themselves whether the partnership serves public interest.
We align with the principle that tax is the citizen’s contribution to shared prosperity. But taxation must be reciprocal. Section 14(2)(b) of the Constitution affirms that “the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.” Thus, while citizens have a duty to pay taxes, Government has a binding obligation to translate those revenues into visible public goods: roads that work, markets that function, hospitals that heal, and security that protects.
The Abia State Government’s statement is more detailed than many of its predecessors, but it reads more as defensive rhetoric than participatory governance. The true measure of reform is not in press releases but in whether the tricycle rider in Aba, the petty trader in Umuahia, or the farmer in Ukwa feels fairness, dignity, and inclusion in daily life. CEHRAWS will continue to monitor developments, engage stakeholders, and advocate for a tax regime that is transparent, equitable, and rights-centred. Revenue must be reclaimed, but trust can only be restored when citizens see both justice and dividends in return.
Signed:
Okoye, Chuka Peter
Executive Director, chukesto@gmail.com | +234(0)808-035-1242 (WhatsApp).
