The truce brokered between Igbo traders and the Kwara State government regarding tax disputes appears to have faltered, as shop closures resurface in Ilorin.
Residents of Ilorin woke up on Monday to find Igbo traders once again shuttering their shops and businesses, echoing their recent protest against alleged tax hikes by the Kwara State Internal Revenue Service (KWIRS).
Although Chief of Staff to the Kwara State Governor, Mahe Abdulkadir, and Saadu Salaudeen, Senior Adviser/Counselor to the Governor, intervened to settle the conflict, the traders’ shops remained closed on Monday.
A planned Tuesday press conference by the Igbo traders to update the public on the situation was postponed for undisclosed reasons.
While the cause of the breakdown in reconciliation remains unclear, sources at the state revenue service office indicated that the agency rejected the Igbo traders’ proposal for a centralized tax payment system.
Insisting on individual tax payments, the revenue service rejected the traders’ preference for collective tax settlement, leading to the renewed standoff.
