No fewer than 50 trucks conveying essentila products from different
parts of the federation to the South East and South south states were
inpounded in the state, allegedly on the orders of the state revenue
authorities.
The revenue officials were said to
be acting on a law, which prohibits haulage vehicles from passing the
state from 6 am to 6pm.
However their action
was said to be contrary to presidential directives, which gave passage
to vehicles conveying such products as pharmaceutical and
healthcare-related products; food and beverages products; petroleum
products amongst others materials as a result of the COVID -19 pandemic.
But,
the Imo State government through the Board of Internal Revenue,
arrested and impounded trucks coming into or passing through the state
for contravening the lockdown order of the state government.
Each of the truvvks was compelled to pay the sum of N50,000 to the state government.
Speaking
with journalists, one the truck drivers conveying beverages for Nestle
Company, Mr. Louis Chikelue said their vehicles were impounded despite
the drivers showing the task force members the authorisation pass from
the federal government.
“But, one of them told
us that even though we have federal pass, we should equally obtain Imo
State government pass because the government is looking for revenue.
Some of us who have perishable items have been begging them to collect
N20,000 to release us but, they are insisting on N50,000. We have never
really been faced with this kind of problem before”, Louis said.
Another
driver, who simply identified himself as Oluwatosun, said: “I am
conveying pharmaceutical products to Aba and when we got Mgbidi around
6.30 pm, soldiers there stopped us from entering into the state with a
reason that there is dusk to dawn curfew in the state.
“In the morning of Tuesday, we headed to Owerri and these task force people impounded our vehicles.
“I
brought out a carton of sanitizers and they opened it and even used
one. Yet, they still impounded my truck demanding initially N100,000
before their leader, one Ayozie reduced it to N50, 000 despite knowing
that. As you can see me now, what my company gave me and my conductor is
N10,000 for feeding and we are expected to return back latest in three
days”.
Our correspondent gathered that the 50
vehicles impounded on Tuesday were released at the cost of the N30,000
each while about 20 more trucks were impounded on Wednesday.
When
our correspondent contacted Chief Ayozie at the Board of Internal
Revenue, Owerri, he said the trucks were impounded for contravening the
law of the state.
Ayozie, who is in charge of
the board’s enforcement unit, said he was made the chairman of the task
force by Governor Hope Uzodimma through the chairman of the board, Mr.
Emma Ononaku.
But,
the chairman of the board told our correspondent that he was unaware of
activities of the task force, saying they might have been people
commissioned from the government house
