FCTA Halts Collection Of Drivers, Riders’ Permit Levy Over Multiple Taxation Concerns

 

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has suspended the enforcement and collection of the controversial Drivers and Riders’ Permit Levy following protests by dispatch riders over alleged multiple taxation.

The directive was issued by the Mandate Secretary of the Transportation Secretariat, Dr. Chinedum Elechi, in a letter addressed to the Managing Director of First Capital Cargo Ltd, the firm engaged to collect the levy on behalf of the administration.

According to the letter, the decision followed a meeting held on February 19 with leaders of the Association of Dispatch Riders in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), during which concerns were raised over what the riders described as excessive and overlapping levies.

“Following the meeting with the leaders of the Association of Dispatch Riders in the FCT, and the concerns of multiple taxation by various authorities raised during the meeting, you are hereby directed to suspend the enforcement and collection of the Drivers and Riders’ Permit Levy, pending further engagement with all relevant stakeholders,” Elechi stated.

He urged the company to ensure immediate compliance with the directive.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that hundreds of dispatch riders had, on February 19, stormed the FCTA Secretariat in Abuja to protest the newly introduced N25,000 permit levy imposed by the Transportation Secretariat.

The riders appealed to the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, to intervene, alleging that they were already paying an annual levy of N13,000 to the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), as well as to the Bwari and Gwagwalada Area Councils.

They further claimed that they also pay N300 per entry into markets within Abuja, describing the cumulative charges as burdensome and amounting to multiple taxation.

The suspension is expected to pave the way for broader consultations between the FCTA and relevant stakeholders to address the concerns raised by the riders.