Abia says akara sellers are not charged N50,000 tax and names new state monuments
The Abia State Government has dismissed reports that akara sellers and other small traders are being forced to pay N50,000 in tax, calling the claim false.
Commissioner for Information Prince Okey Kanu briefed journalists on Monday after a State Executive Council meeting chaired by Governor Alex Otti. He said the Abia State Board of Internal Revenue had not issued a new rate increase. Most figures in circulation, he said, sit in tax laws passed in 2020 under the previous government, and the board cannot raise rates without new legislation.
On akara sellers specifically he said: “This is pure fallacy. Akara sellers don’t pay tax or levies. They pay daily tolls. And none can pay N50,000.” Board chairman Uche Elekwachi said no window in the state’s revenue law requires that sum from bean-cake sellers.
The same meeting approved heritage designations. State Monuments now include the National War Museum, Umuahia; Ojukwu Bunker, Umuahia; and Government College, Umuahia. State Natural Monuments are Ibom Waterfall in Arochukwu and Ulochukwu Cave in Alayi, Bende. Kanu said the labels are meant to protect heritage, grow tourism and position the sites for possible United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recognition.
Aba was named a Creative and Innovative City. Retrofitting at the bunker and war museum is about 80 per cent done and due by the end of 2026. Work has started on the Ibom Waterfall corridor, including access roads. A monument to the heroines of the 1929 Aba Women’s Riot is among new markers planned in the state.
On gratuities, Kanu said payments for 2001–2010 retirees are complete and the next batch, 2011–2025, will follow verification. He denied that the timetable ends in 2031; that year only marks inclusion in the medium-term framework so new arrears do not pile up.
A rumour of a N50,000 levy on street food is the kind of story that travels faster than a 2020 statute book. The government’s reply is that the law did not change and the product does not attract that bill. Traders will test the claim at the point of collection. The monuments and Aba designation are a separate bet: that heritage and a creative-city label can become visitors and jobs if the roads to the waterfall and the museum actually open on time.
