Residents of both Federal and State Owned Estates across owerri woke up to fliers on their gates requesting them to pay N25,000 revalidation fees to the Imo State Housing Corporation.
Now, this same Imo Housing Corporation was used by the Okorocha Administration to extort money from Imolites at whim while requesting for inexhaustible levies and dues.
I therefore ask, is governance all about trying to make as much money from the people as possible? This is clear extortion and does not speak well for a rebuild Imo Government who is expected to depart from the old ways of doing things and take a new people friendly direction.
What exactly are they revalidating? And if they have to revalidate must it be at the expense of the citizens? Must it come as such huge costs with the current state of the economy? Instead of the corporation to start working on ideas that will provide housing security to Imolites while also generating revenue from the government, they feel imposing flat taxes on the people is the way to go.
People cooperate with financial requests from government and its agencies when they see that the agencies are productive and working to ameliorate the suffering of the masses.
We rejected the levies during the last administration and we are still rejecting it now. A lot of people in Imo State in general and Owerri in particular have problems with accomodation and instead of working to solve this before it becomes a crisis, the authorities are looking to tax the house owners out of thier properties.
I hope that the relevant authorities will look into this and take appropriate action to avoid going against the masses.
I remain,
Hon. Roland Gabriel
Co-convener/State Chairman
Imo Concerned Citizens.
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