How Tax Matters force residents to flee Calabar, says Emmah Isong
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Scores of residents must have fled Cross River State because of issues related to varying forms of taxes imposed on them by the state government, says Bishop Emmah Isong, the spokesperson of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, PFN.
Isong who was listed on Monday among the latest set of appointees by the Cross River State government said the issue had been giving him some serious concern for sometime now. But he said he had not discussed it with the governor at any point in time.
He was speaking in reaction to his appointment as chairman of the state anti-tax agency. Isong who is also the General Overseer of the Christian Central Chapel International, CCCI, Calabar, however said he was shocked to hear of the appointment through an associate.
Three other pastors were appointed by Ayade to work with Isong in the agency. They include the Reve Patricia Olom, Pastor John Ekpenyong and the Rev Fr. Julius Adah who is to serve as secretary.
It was not immediately clear if the appointees would be given an office to operate from. But TNN learnt that most of the appointees, generally regarded as food-on-the-table-appointees, neither have offices nor do they have clearly defined duties to perform.
Some people who spoke to TNN about Isong’s appointment however expressed mixed feelings. While some said the appointment was an expression of confidence in the ability of church leaders to resolve tax issues in the state, others felt the governor was merely doing a jamboree with the appointments.
On the list of the latest appointments are 252 people. With this, Ayade has appointed no fewer than 6,000 people since he assumed office on May 29 last year.
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