The Civil Rights Concerns (CRC) has warned that weak tax harmonization in Anambra State is creating loopholes that fuel revenue leakages and encourage multiple taxation, threatening fiscal accountability in the state.
The Executive Director of CRC, Okey Onyeka, made the call in Awka during the organization’s 2025 quarterly budget review, which examined how the first two quarters of the year align with the 2024 financial report and programme delivery.
The budget review had as its theme: “Strengthening fiscal justice for gender equality and tax accountability: ensuring that public resources are raised and spent responsibly, transparently, and equitably in Anambra.”
According to Onyeka, the exercise was designed to help stakeholders assess budget performance, identify service gaps in basic sectors, and set priorities for inclusion in the 2026 state budget currently being prepared.
“Today’s activity is targeted at building understanding with key stakeholders to engage for improved implementation of services in key basic sectors in the remaining quarter of the year,” he explained.
Onyeka stressed that unless the government takes urgent action to harmonize tax collection and block leakages, the state will continue to lose significant revenues that could otherwise fund social services.
“A situation where both local and state governments collect revenue is not healthy,” he said. “The government has already set up a committee for the harmonization of tax payments.
“What is needed is a dedicated account where all remittances go directly into government coffers. That will reduce leakages and eliminate multiple taxation.”
He emphasized that ensuring fiscal justice requires both responsibility from the government and compliance from citizens.
“It is a corresponding obligation. Citizens must ensure they pay their taxes as and when due, while the government must not be angry when citizens demand accountability and services in return,” Onyeka added.
CRC insisted that sustained citizen engagement, transparent reporting, and firm government action on tax harmonization are necessary to strengthen fiscal justice and ensure equitable development in Anambra State.
The meeting drew participants from diverse groups, including smallholder farmers, traders, artisans, persons with disabilities (PWDs), and civil society organizations (CSOs).
Discussions touched on wide-ranging issues in public finance management, including revenue generation, expenditure priorities, project auditing, and reporting.
In education, participants highlighted the need for closer monitoring of projects and motivation of teachers to sustain quality standards. In the health sector, concerns were raised about the rising cost of drugs and the need for continuous training to make health workers more responsive and client-friendly.
On agriculture, participants questioned the government’s heavy focus on distributing coconut palms and seedlings while neglecting critical areas such as laboratory services for testing equipment and chemicals.
They pointed out that while N20 million was budgeted for agricultural laboratory services in previous years, no funding has been released for the past four years, despite the current year’s budget rising above N90 million.
Stakeholders also examined issues of financial borrowing and deficits, government assets and liabilities, as well as pension and gratuity payments.
Many participants underscored the importance of prioritizing social spending in health, education, and agriculture to make budgets more responsive to grassroots needs.
