Motorists, Commuters Raise the Alarm Over Illegal Revenue Points, Tolls, Levies on Streets, Highways

Bassey AKPAN

Motorists and commuters have raised the alarm over setting up of revenue points, collection of levies and rolls on major street and Highways in Cross River state.

Investigations by THE BEAGLE NEWS revealed that these revenue points are over 50 both legal and illegal extorting levies and tolls from motorists and even commuters alike.

Investigations further revealed that motorists pay between N500 and N10,000 as tolls, depending on the type of vehicles, totalling between N300,000 and N1,000, 000 per annum paid to legal and illegal revenue collectors as levies and taxes on daily basis to the agents.

These revenue l avenues are allegedly owned by top government officials and are manned by their cronnies, who they use to enrich themselves and advance their political profiteering.

These revenue points are set up at almost every entry point to various local governments and major streets in urban towns of Calabar, Ugep, Ikom, Ogoja and Obudu as well as border towns and villages.

Checks by our correspondent revealed that these tolls and levies range from city and town permits, gateway levy, road tax to clearance certificate as well as local government rates.

Further checks revealed that these revenue operators work on shifts basis both day and night to enable them meet up with the revenue targets alloted them by their "Ogas" who claim to have allegedly paid for the spot to government coffers and therefore must recoup their investments by all means.

And to meet up revenue targets, these agents apply all sorts of brutal force and violence to collect money from motorists and commuters, as the case may be, and even go to the extent of recruiting security agents to enforce these tolls and levies.

While revenue agents, who collect taxes, tolls and levies for smaller vehicles, operate in the wee hours of and at day time, revenue collectors for bigger trucks and heavy duty equipment operate at night.

In Calabar metropolis, it was gathered that these revenue agents take over major streets as early as 6:30 am to molest and harass market women and traders who travel early to Uyo, Aba, Onitsha and to bush markets in Biase, Akamkpa, Akpabuyo and Bakassi.

And to be able to carry out these legal and illegal tax, tolls and levies' collection, different tasks force,wearing different uniforms, have been set up by all the local governments authorities, ministries, agencies and the powerful individuals the purpose of enforcement.

The most notorious of all these tasks force, in estimations revealed, is the Commercial Transport Regulatory Agency CTRA (CTRA) popularly known as 100 Marian. 

A pip into their activities, of recent, revealed that this CTRA have become a torn in the flesh of motorists and commuters who are harassed, beaten up blue and black and their vehicles impounded.

A close observation of CTRA enforcements strategies have also revealed dehumanising approach to enforcement where in most cases commercial drivers, seen to have a default, are ordered out of the vehicles, or possibley thrown out of a moving vehicle in any slightest provocation and the passengers also ordered out without refund to their fares already paid.

These CTRA enforcement agents are always stationed at major traffic lights junctions and some roundabouts, brazenly jumping-in-and out of mini-buses and taxis in search of daily tickets receipts and failure to produce any one of them on demand.

Some of the motorists decried the situation, calling on Governor Bassey Otu to please come to their rescue and harmonise these taxes, tolls and levies to reduce the economic burden the drivers bear.

In an interview with THE BEAGLES NEWS, one of the bus drivers, who simply gave his name as Akankan Ekanem, said: "We are passing through hell everyday in the hands of various tasks force who collect daily tolls and levies from us. We pay a minimum of N500 daily to especially 100 Marian, who are the out to extort money from drivers.

"These tasks force treat us a common criminals, beta some of us up and can even throw you out of moving vehicles if you fail to stop before them. It is a horrible situation. Even when you have paid, the boys will demand you still settle them."

Equally decryong the high taxes and leaves in the transport sector of Cross River State, the national President of the Delivery Vehicle Owners and Drivers Association Sebastian Raphael has

He disclosed that presently over 70 of these taxes and levies exist in the sector with 70% of these being illegal and this poses a major disincentive to transporters within and outside the state.

Different Tickets Sold by CTRA

"Presently, there are over 70 taxes and levies in the transport sector of Cross River State. Some of these include CTRA daily operational toll, economic development Levy, sanitation/waste basket, state parking permit, community development, Motor Ordinance Test, and numerous others .

"Over 70 percent of taxes on the road is illegal and they will force you and use everything possible including weapons to force you and collect it.

" Between Calabar and Ogoja for instance, over 100 checking points exist and each local government has a different Levy on a vehicle which I believe the governor is unaware.

"Most drivers don't want to bring goods to Cross River, highest they will stop in Akwa Ibom because they know when they come here the money will finish.

"The tax reform is one of the best policies of President Tinubu and we thank him so much because it gives room for the harmonization of taxes and levies", he said.

He lamented the impact of this on transporters saying despite making payment to designated government account based on assessment by the Internal Revenue Service, its members are still harassed on the road. 

He said members of the association in the state have paid up their yearly assessment for 2025 but presently over 20 vehicles belonging to it's members have been impounded by officials of the Commercial Transport Regulatory Agency, CTRA. 

However, chairman of CTRA, Efa Nyong, has not responded to complaints by the delivery drivers. Several calls out across to his mobile number were turned down.