By Amos Aar
BARELY three days after the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPSS) in Benue raised alarm over multiple taxation by the Benue State Government, the Benue State chapter of the Miners Association of Nigeria (MAN) has also cried out that most of their investors are running away from the state for the same reason.
The state chairman of MAN, Hon. John Tersugh Ikyanyon, made the complaint on Thursday at Government House, Makurdi at a meeting between a delegation from the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Abuja and stakeholders in the state to brainstorm towards improving revenue generation through mining and to diversify from crude oil to mining as a mainstay of the Nigerian economy.
Hon. Ikyanyon revealed that as miners, they pay royalties to the federal government and still pay N300,000 to the Benue State Government. He also complained about the issuance of consent letters to miners and sought to know who exactly should issue them the document, the state government or traditional rulers.
Responding to the allegation of multiple taxation, the Executive Chairman, Benue Internal Revenue Service (BIRS), Mrs Mimi Adzakpe-Orubibi, said what they are doing is legal and that people are raising issues out of sentiment just because they did not want to pay tax.
She said the law empowers only states to collect revenue on mining and therefore cautioned local government chairmen against collecting the tax to avoid multiple taxation.
“If the chairman of miners is alleging that they have been paying so much taxes, I want to correct him and tell him that we just included mining in the state revenue law this year. We never had it in our law. Mining has been there in the federal government law but we never domesticated it. So, you were just carting away what you were doing without paying. We just brought it in March, 2022 and it is here and I want to say it is not only here in Benue State. We picked a copy from our neighbouring Nasarawa State. Have you bothered to check how much Nasarawa is paying? Some of the rates were even reduced.
“When we want to domesticate laws, we look at Cross River, we look at Kogi as states that are bordering us. So, I want to say that what we are doing here is legal. FMO (Federal Mines Officer), what you have is regulation and it cannot supersede state law, let us be guided by law,” Mrs Orubibi insisted.
The BIRS chairman further explained that miners are only expected to regularise with the state and the local government as well to let the local governments know their presence there to avoid what happens in Zamfara where people are kidnapped and killed.
“You can’t come straight from the federal government and we don’t know, and they now say they are shooting there, they have kidnapped somebody, don’t come and call on the governor to begin to look for somebody who is kidnapped and that is why we need to know you. We are not saying we want to take over the right of the federal government.
“We have a ministry here called the Ministry of Lands, Survey and Solid Minerals. That’s what we are saying, we are not saying you should come and pay money. The money you will pay is through the Board of Internal Revenue Service.
Earlier, the federal commissioner representing Benue State at the RMAFC, Mr Samuel Adaa Maagbe, said he led a delegation of the RMAFC to the state as they were doing to all states of the federation to know the challenges faced by miners in the state causing poor remittance to the federation account.
Maagbe, who expressed concern that if the trend continued unchecked, many states in the country will be unable to pay even workers’ salaries, also told the stakeholders not to hide their challenges and grievances but table it for resolution.
Governor Samuel Ortom, represented by Commissioner of Finance, Mr David Olofu, called on the federal government to grant states full autonomy to be able to participate actively in economic diversification.
“I believe that the federal government has no right to be issuing licenses for mineral resources in our land. As part of the recommendation going forward, just as the governor is the custodian of land in the state, let state be the one to issue license.
“The federal government talks about diversifying the economy, meanwhile they are holding the knife and the yam. How do you do diversification if you don’t allow states to be active participants in all these mineral sectors?” Ortom queried.
Ortom said the state government will organise a summit of the mining sector in Benue to address all issues raised by stakeholders at the meeting.
Other stakeholders who spoke during the meeting, either by way of contribution or by speaking out on various issues and challenges include Federal Mines Officer (FMO) for Benue State, Mr Agamah Agwuj, Tor Tiv, HRM Prof. James Ayatse, represented by Tor Lobi, Chief Moses Anagende, Special Adviser to the governor on solid minerals, Mr Andrew Aondowase, Guma local government chairman and state ALGON chairman, Dr Mike Ubah, Ter Kwande, Chief Timothy Ahire, General Manager, Dangote Mines Ltd, Mr Nuhu Eluja, among others.
