Secret Reporters No place to hide
Secret Reporters
The quest to leave a legacy for the people of Akwa Ibom has driven Governor Emmanuel Udom crazy, with his recent drive to make sure all those owing the state pay their debts.
He recently bared his fangs on Exxon Mobil, operating in Ibeno Eket, through the Akwa Ibom State Board of Internal Revenue. On Tuesday, the board led by its Executive Director on enforcement, Mr Leo Leo Umana stormed the office of the oil giants and sealed up the place for not remitting the correct tax to the state.
We gathered independently that this action was taken after several reconciliation meetings between the board and the company which yielded no result.
Though the law allows for six years when a company defaults to pay tax, it has taken more than the stipulated years for Exxon Mobil, as it owes the state an accumulated debt of N24.5 billion, SecretReporters can authoritatively report as gotten from sources with AKIRS.
Exxon Mobil is currently the employer of Mr Udom Inoyo who is alleged to be the choice successor to Gov. Udom Emmanuel. Inoyo who is retiring this year has been penciled down to become the Chief of Staff to the Governor, to undergo political grooming under the governor, before he takes over. Popularly called ‘Lekki returnee’, he has been going about in subtle manner, relating with the people and warming his way into their hearts ahead of the race in 2023. He will be the first Chief of Staff in the state if plans are not changed by the governor. The 2020 budget already has an allocation to the office.
