By joshua 
Edo Govt Bans NURTW, RTEAN, Others Over Illegal Revenue Collection
By Ikhili Ebalu, Benin City
The Edo State Government has announced an indefinite ban on the activities of key transport unions and a private revenue consultant over what it described as “alarming resurgence of illegal revenue collection” and widespread extortion of motorists and traders across the state.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by the Secretary to the State Government, Umar Musa Ikhilor, the government decried the activities of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), ANNEWAT, and Drivers on Wheel, accusing them of grossly violating previous agreements with the Edo State Internal Revenue Service (EIRS).
Also affected is Atalakpa Recovery Concept Ltd, a private consultant earlier engaged to enforce compliance. The government alleged that the firm had “become complicit in widespread extortion and abuse of mandate, thereby betraying the trust reposed in them by the State.”
According to the statement, the banned entities have been implicated in cash collections, intimidation, and harassment of road users under the guise of legitimate revenue enforcement. The government described such actions as “economic sabotage, social oppression, and a direct affront to law and order.”
The government in the statement gave immediate directives that all activities of the affected unions and the private consultant are suspended indefinitely.
Also, warned that no individual or group under the banned bodies is permitted to collect any form of dues, levies, or taxes from motorists, drivers, traders, or the public. Road users have been advised not to comply with any such illegal levy.
The government further directed citizens to report violations to the Edo State Special Taskforce, coordinated by SP Michael Anetor via 08038157126. The Commissioner of Police and other security agencies as they have been instructed to arrest and prosecute offenders.
He warned that the government’s commitment to sanitizing the state’s revenue system and protecting citizens from unlawful exploitation. “The era of using unions as fronts to harass, intimidate, or extort drivers and road users in the name of revenue collection is over,” the statement declared.