Today, November 12, Senator Monday Okpebholo will take oath of office as Edo State Governor. As a reminder, his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), during the electioneering campaigns, assured that ‘A New Edo Is Rising’ and promised to lay great emphasis on agriculture, health, education and human capital development, environmental protection and safety and overhauling security architecture of Edo State. These achievable lofty ideals can only be actualized through fiscal and financially well managed resources.
Only recently, the chairman of the State Task Force on Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), Hon. John Oseyi Inegbenedion disclosed during the Q3 2024 EIRS Quarterly Performance Review (QPR) meeting in Benin City an upward swing in Edo State yearly IGR between 2016, when the outgoing government came on board, and 2024, except in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of the figures he brandished were as follows: In 2016, Edo IGR was N26.64 billion; 2017, N27.19 billion; 2018, N29.62 billion; 2019, N35.2 billion; 2020, N20.02 billion; 2021, N38.67 billion; 2022, N45.06 billion; 2023, N62.08 billion. He projected that 2024 will close at N85 billion, with an average of N7 billion monthly.
If these figures are correct and not to ingratiate the outgoing government, we must remind Governor Monday Okpebholo that for his administration to discharge its onerous responsibilities effectively, all hands must be on deck to bolster the current IGR and expand the revenue base of the state. In doing these, though, Edo people must not be overburdened with excessive rates, levies and taxes in any guise. Rather, loopholes and leakages of revenue accruing to the state in all sectors of the economy should be blocked.
The transportation sector is a case in point. The dubious and excessive money drivers pay to touts, otherwise called ‘agberos’ is in bad taste. Rather, such funds could be channelled into the coffers of the Edo State government. Touts, operating in Edo State, especially in the state capital, have over the years enriched themselves at the expense of the government, under the guise of being authorized by the state. Daily official payment for commercial buses that ply the three Benin municipal councils is N1200: (N800, N200, N200). However, touts in some council areas compel drivers to pay for various levies, which include Chairman Chop Money’, ‘Priority’, ‘Blowing’, Edo Drivers Welfare Empowerment Scheme’, among others. The levies are paid in each local government area that commercial vehicle drivers ply. Any driver who refuses to comply with these illegal levies is beaten black and blue or his vehicle confiscated by the touts. For clarity, the illegal levies are hereby explained:
Chairman chop money:
Each park has a chairman. Commercial vehicle drivers are compelled to pay N200 daily as ‘Chairman Chop Money’ to chairman (agbero) of each park. If he picks passengers in Oredo, Egor, Ikpoba Okha or Uhunmwonde (Egba axis), he pays N200 at each park.
Priority:
In Benin City, apart from the Central Park, there are no officially designated motor parks for buses. Therefore, touts create their own parks and charge exorbitant rates. For example, commercial bus drivers who ply between New Benin Market and Aduwawa pay as much as between N3,500 and N5,000 daily as ‘priority’ to touts in New Benin, in Oredo Local Government and lesser amount at Aduwawa, in Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area. By priority, it means drivers do not need to stay on line in government-designated parks (where available) to wait for passengers. Rather, they can go to parks created by touts, which usually have fewer vehicles.
Blowing:
Drivers who do not wish to operate in the parks illegally administered by touts but chose to pick passengers along the road are forced to pay between N500 and N2000 daily as ‘blowing’ to touts depending on the local government area.
Edo Drivers Welfare Empowerment Scheme:
This scheme, as the name implies, is supposed to assist drivers one way or the other, financially or morally. But it is not. Rather, drivers pay N200 daily to operators of the scheme in each local government area they operate.
Ticket enforcers:
This group of people come out daily as from 12pm to apprehend drivers who fail to buy tickets. However, some drivers are known to corrupt the ticket enforcers and ticket sellers by giving them tips in the place of buying tickets. It is alleged that some tickets sold to drivers are fake.
POWOV
When full grown adults decide to do government work pro-bono, often, mischief is in their minds. This is the story of Public Works Volunteers, POWOV under outgoing Governor Godwin Obaseki. They were mere extortionists. POWOV members make huge amounts of money daily from drivers. Stopping or parking in ‘unauthorised’ places, even though there are no signs of ‘no parking’ on such spots, attracts confiscation of vehicles or as much as N20,000 extortion of vehicles of culprits sent to mobile courts where lesser, same or higher fines were imposed on offenders.
Finally, as Governor, you know that so much is expected from you. As you said, Sir, you will continue from where a two-time Governor of Edo State, Senator Adams Oshiomhole stopped. Incidentally, both of you belong to same party, the APC, as it is at the Federal level. Senator Oshiomhole did very well as Governor of Edo State. It is expected thet you will outshine him.
Please ignore Robert Green, who admonished in the first of his 48 Laws of Power: ‘Never Try to Outshine Your Master.’ Edo people expect much of the so-called dividends of democracy from the APC and you, Sir. Therefore, you must do your utmost best to fulfil your electioneering manifestos and meet the yearnings and aspirations of Edo people.
As Edo State Chief Executive Officer, the bulk stops on your table. Only one person (Gov. Okpebholo) will be held accountable for the success or failure of Edo State in the next four years. Therefore, the interest of few persons, no matter the roles they played in your emergence as Edo State Governor should not override the collective and greater interest of Edo people. Moreover, Edo State should not be allowed to drift into anarchy and lawlessness caused by touts in the transportation sector. There should be structural and fundamental modifications in revenue collection and prescribed penalties for defaulters clearly spelt out. Few people cannot illegally amass wealth through revenue collection while your administration is confronted with challenges of meeting its obligations, as a result of financial incapacitation. Edo State Government should insist that drivers get receipts or tickets for any money paid, legal or illegal from its officials and touts. This will go a long way in boosting the state’s revenue and ensure sanity in the sector.
