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Gov Mbah rejects claims of high taxation in Enugu
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Governor of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah, has rejected the claims of high taxation in the state, describing them as ‘a pathetic misconception promoted by the opposition and beneficiaries of the old order, who manipulated revenue collection to fatten their private pockets.’
Mbah insisted that his administration has grown the state’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), by widening the tax net to bring in more taxable persons, blocked revenue leakages, and tackled sharp practices that drained public revenues by introducing Consolidated Demand Notice, e-ticketing, recovery, optimisation, and monetisation of the state’s assets.
He stressed that the Enugu State Government doesn’t have the power to increase or reduce taxes under the 1999 Constitution, as it is the exclusive preserve of the federal government.
The governor provided the clarifications in an interview aired by Afia Television this week.
“First, as a state, we are not able to legislate on taxation. It is in the exclusive legislative list, which can only be legislated on by the National Assembly. Whether it is your Personal Income Tax, your Company Income Tax, your Value Added Tax or your Withholding Tax, those taxes can only be legislated on by the National Assembly,” he clarified.
Mbah said that those framing the false narratives could not come to terms that his administration could scale up the state’s IGR from N26.8bn the state recorded in 2022 to N37.4bn by the end of 2023, N180.5bn in 2024, and N406.7bn in 2025.
“I think for those framing this false narrative, it is beyond their imagination that we could optimise our dormant assets and grow our revenue exponentially.
“They fail or refuse to take note of the fact that in 2025, for instance, tax revenue accounted for only N51.5bn or 12.6 per cent of the N406.7bn IGR, while non-tax revenue was N355.2bn or 87.4 per cent,” the governor added.
As for the areas within the states’ competence, such as rates and levies, Mbah explained that his administration has already taken steps to crash the payable amounts for certain services provided by Enugu State Government.
“For those rates and fees, we constituted a committee that also included market leaders, organised labour, Chamber of Commerce and Industry, among others, which went around to get what the other states within the South East were charging. It turned out that Enugu is the lowest in the South East. But that notwithstanding, we crashed that rates even further by 70 per cent especiallyin land sectors,” he stated.
He, however, acknowledged the activities of illegal revenue collectors, saying the recently passed Enugu State Harmornised Taxes and Levies (Approved List for Collection) Law, 2026, would finally eliminate road blocks and unauthorised collections that have burdened residents of the State. He added that the government will up enforcement and public enlightenment to checkmate the activities of extortionists.
“Under our laws, we have consolidated all these services and you only just have one payment that you make and you are done with all the services that the government provides.
“Some people still go about extorting money from helpless citizens because this is a practice that has gone on over the years. But we have constituted a standing task force to track and bring them to book. We also want the citizens to report them. We now have several toll-free lines where citizens can call freely. They do not have to have airtime to place such calls,” he concluded.
Fresh reports from Kogi State say the All Progressives Congress (APC) leadership has quietly lined up former Governor Yahaya Adozi Bello and two sitting senators for unopposed runs in the 2027 senatorial elections.
Party insiders claim the automatic tickets are already reserved for three names:
Alh. Yahaya Adozi Bello (Kogi Central) Senator Jibrin Isah Echocho (Kogi East) , Senator Sunday Karimi (Kogi West)
Bello’s Move to the Senate
The headline here is Yahaya Bello stepping forward for the Kogi Central seat. If it sticks, the man known as the “White Lion” will trade Government House for the National Assembly. Analysts see it as a calculated step to keep his influence alive at both state and federal levels.
A frontline Support Group for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has lauded the nomination of Chief Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe, as a Minister from Oyo State.
Tinubu had on Thursday, sent the name of Chief Tegbe as the ministerial nominee from Oyo State, to replace Hon. Adebayo Adelabu.
Adelabu had resigned as Minister of Power a week ago, to enable him run for the governorship of Oyo State.
In a statement signed on Friday by the National President, Mr. Gideon Oche Onazi, and the Secretary, Alhaji Muhammad Kudu, the Tinubu Consensus Network (TCN) said the appointment of Chief Tegbe was “a good step in the right direction”.
The group, a cardinal think-thank forum amongst the national support groups of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), said, with Chief Tegbe been empowered as a Minister, the votes of Oyo State would swell for APC across boards.
“He has done it before. He has been doing it when he was just a private person, how much more now that he is going to be a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria? The votes from Oyo State will swell double for our dear President and all our APC candidates in Oyo State”, the statement read.
The TCN reminisced the role played by Chief Tegbe in the last general elections, especially during the Presidential and National Assembly elections, where he mobilized party stakeholders in his local government area and other areas financially, to give APC the victory it had, “even in a state controlled by the PDP”.
“Our Coordinator in Oyo State, Alhaji Wasiu Akanbi, has records of the wonderful contributions Chief Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe made towards the success of our party in Oyo State in 2023, and he did send the report.
“In fact, he collapsed his governorship campaign structure of 2019 into the APC Support Group and instructed and mandated all of them to deliver APC allround. We are pleased with the news of his appointment and we can’t thank the President enough, for this great honour done to a man who is loved by the people”, the group added.
On the capability of the nominee, the TCN extolled the capacity of Chief Tegbe, adding that, his scorecard in places he has work, stands him out as an astute technocrat.
“His work in the private sector has been stellar. He has been the lead partner and adviser on several national level development reforms across several industries including: Housing and Infrastructure; Trade and Investment; Financing; Skills Development; Information Technology; Telecommunications; and Social Security.
“Through his career, he has worked to improve his capacity to provide solutions into increasingly diverse areas with formal and informal training courses.
“Chief Tegbe, no doubt, has more than three decades of experience spanning consulting, fiscal policy and institutional reform. He is a former Senior Partner at KPMG, who led advisory services across Africa, working on governance, regulatory frameworks and large-scale transformation projects.
“The man also has engagements with key institutions in Nigeria’s power sector, including the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission and the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company. He is very versatile and can serve Nigeria in any sector”, the statement added.
Until his nomination, Tegbe was a director-general of the Nigeria-China Strategic Partnership, where he coordinated development cooperation initiatives and investment engagements between Abuja and Beijing. He also chairs Nigeria’s tax implementation committee, underscoring his role in shaping broader economic policy.
Tegbe’s appointment comes at a critical juncture for Africa’s most populous economy, where persistent electricity shortages continue to weigh on growth, industrial output and investor confidence.
In a significant move set to turnaround Adamawa politics, former governorship candidate and ex-senator Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed Binani has dumped the ADC for the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC redrawing battle lines ahead of 2027.
Binani walked into the NDC fold in Abuja Friday, greeted by National Leader Senator Henry Seriake Dickson, party chiefs, and a full National Working Committee. It’s her second defection in months — APC to ADC, now ADC to NDC.
“This is not about me,” Binani said, voice firm. “It’s about the people who have stood with me. They are central to my journey.” She pointed to the NDC’s promise of “structured, policy-driven governance” as the pull, vowing to plant the party deep in Adamawa soil and fight for fairness, justice, and real internal democracy.
Dickson didn’t hesitate. He handed her the keys to Adamawa. “Leadership responsibility of the party in Adamawa has been entrusted to her,” he declared, charging her to heal divisions and build a machine strong enough to win.
He cast a wider net too, calling on women and political heavyweights nationwide to see NDC as home. “We are an inclusive platform,” Dickson said, underscoring the party’s pledge to affirmative action for women.
For Binani, the stakes are personal. The APC flagbearer who came within inches of the Adamawa Government House in 2023 is now carrying NDC’s banner. Her arrival instantly gives the young party muscle, structure, and a battle-tested general in one of the North’s fiercest political arenas.
With 2027 already rumbling, Adamawa just got a new power map. And Binani is holding the compass.
2027: APC Reportedly Gives Automatic Senate tickets to Bello, Karimi and Echocho
Tinubu Consensus Network Hails Tegbe’s Appointment As Minister
2027 realignment: Binani dumps ADC, takes Adamawa’s political firepower to NDC
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