Stakeholders have lamented the continued remittance of taxes accruing to Edo State Government to Delta, saying this has resulted in massive loss of revenue.

The stateholders, which included commissioners, senior civil servants, members of the judiciary in Edo State spoke on Wednesday
at a meeting the Edo State Inland Revenue Service (EIRS) held with ministries, departments and agencies on revenue collection challenges.

In his welcome address,
Executive Chairman of the EIRS, Otunba Oladele Bankole-Balogun, who
said though the EIRS was making progress in terms of revenue collection, stated that there was the need for all the stakeholders to work together and increase the state’s revenue base.

READ ALSO: Edo Seals Market Square Over Unpaid Taxes

Bankole-Balogun, while noting that the EIRS has adopted a Treasury Single Account (TSA) to reduce leakages in tax collection in the state, said: “A fundamental tool for achieving this is the single Treasury Account, which we have begun to try and institutionalised. It ensures that all government agency receipts, or all government receipts, flow through a transparent, centralised account for eliminating cash handling, reducing leakages, and, most importantly, improving accountability.

“So, going forward, we want to encourage that all revenue streams be remitted into the state IGR account with proper digital records and accountability.

“Remember that revenue is not an end in itself. It’s just a means and means to better roads, stronger health systems, vibrant education, safer communities and dignity for all the citizens of our state.”

He said the state was waiting for the commencement of the new national tax law and the state would key into it.

READ ALSO:FG Sues Binance For $81.5bn In Economic Losses, Back Taxes

Also speaking on loss of revenue, the Managing Director of the Edo State Traffic Management Agency (EDSTMA), Engr Stainless Ijeghede, said he had made reports on the payment of taxes of oil company workers in Edo State to Delta, but the Edo State government was yet to take any action on that

“When I go there to work, at the end of the month, I still see in my pay slip, tax Delta, all my years there, I didn’t see tax Edo. What that means is that those people who work in Oben pay tax to Delta State Government.”

On his part, Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice of Edo State, Hon. Samson Osagie,
said that several meetings on the boundary issues have been held and adjustments made, stressing that he expects the National Boundary Commission (NBC) to visit the areas and ratify the boundaries to stop the revenue loss.

He disclosed that his ministry is proposing a Revenue Court Law that would create specific courts to try tax offenders.

Osagie said: “There is the need for Revenue Court and revenue Courts law, the whole idea is to ensure that the entire gamut of our tax system is put together in a way that enforcement and prosecution of tax offenders are easy.”

The National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW), Northeast Zonal Centre, under the Office of the National Security Adviser to the President has intensified forces with the Nigerian Army to fight the menace of the proliferation of illicit small arms and light weapons in the country.

Speaking on Wednesday during a courtesy visit to Maj:-Gen. A.E Abubakar, the Theatre Commander, Joint Task Force, Northeast, Operation Handin Kai in Maiduguri, Maj-:Gen Abubakar Adamu (Rtd), the Northeast Zonal Coordinator, NCCSALW Northeast Zonal Centre, said the collaboration was necessary in mopping up Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) in the Zone.

Adamu, who stated the negative impact the proliferation of illicit SALW has on peaceful coexistence in the nation and its socio-economic activities, pledged the Centre’s continuous cooperation with the Nigerian Army especially in intelligence sharing which he said, was paramount in preventing the proliferation of this SALW in the country.

READ ALSO:FG Approves New NYSC Mandatory Regulations

“One of our responsibilities is to prevent the proliferation of small Arms and Light Weapons and to also enlighten the people. We are a multi agency department and we have the police, the DSS, and also retired military officers as well as serving military officers.

“We have been empowered to receive all illicit small arms and light weapons that have been retrieved from all the agencies and we are the people responsible to destroy them,” he said.

While commending the Nigerian Army for always being at the forefront in ensuring that the country was safe for all to live in, Adamu promised to strengthen the partnership in order to further make the country a better place for all to live.

READ ALSO: Army Arrests Notorious IPOB Commander In Imo

“We are also the only organization empowered to prosecute gun runners and all the people that have been arrested in terms of dealing with small arms and light weapons.

“What we are doing is to visit major stakeholders and to also share intelligence, information and to collaborate because we know without the armed forces, there is no way we can eradicate the proliferation of small Arms and Light Weapons,” he added.

Adamu also explained that the centre had collected small arms and light weapons from Nigerian Army operation Safe Haven in Plateau state and destroyed them last month.

READ ALSO:FG Issues New Policy To Standardise Drug Procurement

Responding, Maj:-Gen. A.E Abubakar promised to support the Centre so as to achieve its mandate while recalling the past records of the Zonal Director as a result-oriented and patriotic officer.

He also commended the Centre for working hand in hand with all the security agencies, traditional rulers and key stakeholders, adding that this would go a long way in mopping up and tackling the proliferation of illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons in the country.

He promised to keep working in synergy and in cooperation with the centre, urging them to come at any time for proper documentation in order to collect all the available recovered small arms and light weapons from the theatre command.

It could be recalled that the centre, on August, 27 also paid a courtesy visit to Brig.-Gen. U.V Unachukwu, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 7 Division, Nigerian Army Headquarters in Maiduguri to strengthen ties with the Division in the fight against the proliferation of illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons in the country.

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria has suspended its nationwide strike against Dangote Petroleum Refinery after the intervention of the Federal Government, but warned that the suspension is only temporary.

PENGASSAN President, Festus Osifo, announced the decision on Wednesday in Abuja after marathon negotiations with government officials and representatives of the refinery that stretched into the early hours.

The strike, which began on Sunday over alleged anti-union practices at the refinery, paralysed parts of Nigeria’s oil and gas operations before Wednesday’s truce.

He announced this at a press conference on Wednesday in Abuja.

The strike, which commenced on Sunday over alleged anti-union practices at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, was called off after marathon negotiations brokered by the Federal Government stretched into the early hours of Wednesday.

READ ALSO:Dangote Hits Out At PENGASSAN, Says Union ‘Serial Saboteurs, Serving Oligarchs’

The union president said the decision followed intense intervention by the Federal Government that paved the way for the truce.

Osifo said the union was taking the “moral high ground” by bowing to government persuasion despite strong doubts about the sincerity of the Dangote Group.

Osifo stated, “We are only suspending, not calling off this strike.”

“If any part of this agreement is broken, we will not give any warning. We will immediately resume our suspended industrial action.”

He stressed that the industrial action was rooted in the fundamental right of workers to freedom of association, insisting that members joined the union “to secure better welfare and fair pay.”

READ ALSO:Court Stops PENGASSAN, Others From Cutting Gas Supply To Dangote Refinery

According to him, PENGASSAN remains unsatisfied with aspects of the communique signed under the supervision of the Ministry of Labour, warning that the union’s patience should not be mistaken for weakness.

Osifo said, “Yes, we understand that Dangote does not respect the rules of engagement. Yes, we understand that Dangote wants to prove that he is always bigger than the rules and above the law. Yes, we understand that today, we still have some members working within the confines of the refinery.

“Yes, today, we still have some members working in some companies within the group. Yes, we know or we believe or we suspect that some of the things that the government has asked Dangote to do, that he’s going to slip in it and won’t do them just as he did it to NUPENG. We have our suspicion.

“We truly don’t believe that he will keep to his own side of the bargain. We truly don’t believe that he will live up to expectations. We don’t believe. But because we have respect for institutions, because we have respect for government, because we have respect for processes, and because we have respect for procedures and because of those in government who sat up till almost 4 a.m. this morning to try and resolve this subject, the NEC has decided to listen to them. Even with our mutual suspicion that Dangote will not do what is right, even with our misgivings that the document did not clearly represent what we have asked for.

READ ALSO:Fuel Price Hike Looms As Dangote Refinery Stops Petrol Sales In Naira

“But even with the shortcomings in the document, the National Executive Council of PENGGASAN has decided that they will go ahead to take the moral high ground, that we will go ahead to prove to the government that we are extremely patriotic people, that love this country more than any single individual, that we will go ahead to suspend the industrial action that we started on Sunday, 28th day of September 2025.”

He emphasised that the dispute was about the fundamental right of workers to freedom of association and fair pay.

“Remember, we are only suspending and we didn’t call off. We will be monitoring and following closely on any slip on the part of Dangote. If any part of this agreement, or any part of this communique as put up by the Ministry of Labour, is broken, we will not give any notice, we will not give any warning, and we will resume the suspended industrial action immediately.

“We have only suspended the industrial action in respect of the government of the land. As an institution, are we completely happy with what was provided? The answer for us is no,” he added.

The Dangote Petroleum Refinery, commissioned in 2023 with a touted capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, has faced recurring disputes with oil sector unions.

Its sister union, NUPENG, also accused the conglomerate of anti-union practices.