Benin City: EIRS Denounce Involvement In Toddler’s Death (DETAILS)

Mr. Bankole Balogun, the Executive Chairman of the Edo State Internal Revenue Service (EIRS), cleared the agency on Wednesday of any involvement in the tragic death of a baby in the state.

He maintained that those who have rejected Senator Monday Okpebholo’s leadership as the state’s governor are the ones who are spreading this false information.

Remember how a commercial driver clashed with the Edo State Public Safety Response Team (PSR) police on the Ring Road in Benin last Wednesday evening, crushing a two-year-old girl to death?

According to an eyewitness who wished to remain anonymous, the driver lost control of the moving car as the PSR agents tried to take possession of the steering wheel.

The small girl was instantaneously killed when the bus went off the road and crashed into a Point of Sale (PoS) booth by the side of the road where she and her mother were standing. Since then, the EIRS has been incorrectly associated with this unpleasant episode.

Speaking about the situation and other state-related problems during a courtesy call on Wednesday from the Edo State Council’s Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) leadership, Mr. Balogun expressed his condolences to the family of the dead. He claimed that since the PSR is not one of his employees and he did not send someone to collect money on their behalf, EIRS is not liable for the toddler’s death. Balogun questioned why such things would ever be attributed to EIRS.

“As it is right now, there is a lot of unfortunate political postulations here and there just in typically to bring down a democratically elected government of the state.”

“People are not happy to accept the will of the people and carry on with their lives rather they look for all sorts of dangerous ways of creating problems in public politics.”

“You alluded very rightly to a very unfortunate situation that happened a week or two weeks ago involving somebody who was, evading arrest and who, sadly, was the positive factor for the loss of a child.”

“Now, that has absolutely nothing to do with the revenue service of an Edo State. Absolutely nothing. So, but why would anybody ascribe that to revenue service if not that there are, some sort of political undertones,” Balogun said.

He further denied raising taxes for the private schools in the state noting that, issues of increment in taxation have to do with the approval of the state house of assembly.

“And similarly, you know, there’s some new story, going around now that the revenue service, has unilaterally increased taxation in private schools but there’s absolutely no truth in that.”

“And I want to thank Mr Benjamin and our legal advisor for the sterling role that they played, you know, this morning on your station, to dispel this.”

“Taxation and tax law is governed by statute. It’s governed by law. So we cannot arbitrarily get up here today and say we want to tax you. Every tax is itemized by law.”

“So, the tax that schools, individuals and private enterprises are being taxed is governed by law. There is a coding, there’s a formula for that.”

“So perhaps maybe the situation that some of these people that are facing is because the revenue service is now alive to its responsibilities and chasing after people who have been under-assessed or under have been declaring or have been evading or avoiding tax.”

“They now turn it around to say that we are arbitrally. The only person that can increase taxes for the state is the state house of assembly on the approval by the executive governor of the state looking at the federal tax laws.”

“So, it’s a whole conundrum. So we Bankole Balogun and his directors and senior people here don’t send people outside and say, you know, we are increasing tax.”

“No, it doesn’t work like that. And they themselves know that it doesn’t work like that but in order to create panic, confusion and disaffection, which as far as I’m concerned is poor journalism and it has the potential to create unnecessary havoc” Balogun said.

Dr. Festus Alenkhe, the chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Edo State Council, had earlier praised the EIRS leadership for their work in the state.

Additionally, he urged the EIRS leadership to train their employees on how to conduct their revenue drive in a way that benefits both the government and taxpayers.