Socio-political group known as South East Progressive Assembly, SEPA, has thrown its weight behind embattled Abia State governor, Okezie Ikpeazu insisting that available statistics and evidence did not in any form suggest that the governor either forged his tax clearance or evaded payment ahead of his participation in the primary election of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, where he was validly nominated as the party’s candidate to contest in the last governorship election in the state.
SEPA in a statement signed by its president, Ebere Uzoukwa and made available to journalists, argued that as a political appointee in the service of the state within the period under review, whose taxes were also duely and expressly deducted at source, he could not have been judicially condemned to have engaged in forgery after being cleared by the state Board of Internal Revenue.
The group, however insists that only the Board of Internal Revenue of Abia State has the constitutional powers to prove beyond reasonable doubt if indeed Gov. Ikpeazu forged, evaded or paid his taxes even as at when due.
“The attention of the South East Progressive Assembly, SEPA, has been drawn to yet another judgment by Abuja Federal High Court, presided by Justice Okon Abang which asked Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu to vacate his seat for Uche Ogah over alleged tax evasion.
“While SEPA as a responsible organisation strongly believes in the judiciary, it however, wonders why a man whose taxes were duly deducted at source while in the services of Abia State as an appointee, has been judicially condemned to have either forged his tax clearance or evaded payment.
“Those who clearly understand the workings of government are conversant to the tradition whereby political appointees, civil and public servants, mandatorily have their taxes deducted by the Board of Internal Revenue which constitutionally, is conferred with the …Read More
Source:: Nigerian Pilot
