By Favour Goodness
Chief Rommy Ezeonwuka, Spiritual leader of Igbo Nation (Ogilisi Igbo) has condemned the touting and extortions in Onitsha, the commercial hub of Anambra state, blaming the nefarous activities to “cabals” in government circle.
Ezeonwuka made the observation in Onitsha on Monday.
He attributed the menace of touts in Onitsha to some highly place people who are refered to as “cabals” in the system.
He noted that the “cabals” contribute peanut to state government purse in the name of revenue contract but looting the state treasury to acquire mansions and sports utility vehicles.
“They build private businesses such as hotels, plazas, petrol filling stations and housing estates,” Ezeonwuka said.
He lamented that the touts were daily intimidating, harassing and forcibly extorting money from visiting petty traders, resident hawkers and wheel barrow pushers, commercial and private motorists as tolls and levies with fake tickets.
He said the touts impose multiple levies and tolls on unsuspecting members of the public working to earn their daily bread.
“These traders come from neighborhood states of Enugu, Delta, Kogi, Benue, Ebonyi, Imo and Abia among others.
“Their activities also make sales difficult for the traders in all the Onitsha and environ markets and reducing 0government revenue generation to nothing in Onitsha,” Ezeonwuka said.
According to him, touts are more dangerous than unknown gunmen.
“Onitsha should be one of the major area of revenue generation by the government but touts who parade fake revenue tickets and impose ilegal tolls and levies on residents and visitors have made it difficult. This is too bad” he said.
He, however, urged the residents and visitors of the commercial city of Onitsha to take advantage of the ban on touts and touting by Gov. Willie Obiano resist intimidate, harassment and extortion in the markets, motor parks and bus stops.
Insisting that residents and visitors have to rise up against the menace of touts in Onitsha because government has banned on it.
He advised the Ministry in charge of Internal Generated Revenue (IGR) to publish revenue points for the members of the public to know what to pay for and what not to pay.
