Mobile money and banking agents are currently locked in a battle with the authorities of Agbado-Oke Odo Local Council Development Area over a N600 weekly levy imposed on them.
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The drama started when the LCDA, through its appointed contractor, Messrs Trilling Volant Service (TVS), distributed a circular mandating POS operators to begin the payment of the controversial levy, with enforcement commencement date slated for Saturday, July 25.
This was met with great displeasure and outcry by the affected operators, describing the levy as exploitative, insensitive, cruel and additional burden to bear, particularly during a worldwide pandemic that has brought the world’s economy to its knees.
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Rising to the defense of the POS agents is the Association of Mobile Money and Banking Agents of Nigeria (AMMBAN), the body overseeing the activities and operations of the association in Nigeria.
In a chat with Newsbreak, Ganiyu Ogungbayi, AMMBAN Zonal Coordinator for Agbado-Oke Odo, condemned the move by the leadership of the LCDA and maintained that the association will not allow its members be subjected to any illegal levy that will impose additional burden on them.
“This is not acceptable. To register our displeasure, we met with some officials of the council and submitted our protest letter. We also submitted to the office of the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftancy Affairs.
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“In our interaction with the council officials, we demanded for the significance of the new levy as it is not known under any law. They couldn’t explain,” he said.
Speaking further, Ogungbayi lamented that AMMBAN members were already saddled with paying trade permit and lock up levy among other sundry expenses, wondering why the LCDA came up with another levy.
“We have another meeting with the LCDA officials next week Wednesday. Part of what they want us to do is to agree to a new harmonisation formula that will include the new weekly levy,” he said.
After the meeting AMMBAN had with the officials on Monday, July 27, the LCDA suspended the collection of the new levy pending another meeting after the Sallah celebration.
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Probed on AMMBAN’s next line of action, Ogungbayi said, “I can authoritatively tell you that our National President is in talks with the Attorney General of the Federation and the association is consulting widely. All these will inform our next line of action”.
From information gathered, the other local government where members AMMBAN also experienced something akin to the Agbado-Oke Odo experience was Ado-Odo Ota in Ogun state and this was quickly tackled by the association.
Some operators who spoke to Newsbreak expressed surprise and condemned the action of the LCDA, describing it as a move to kill their businesses.
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Another concerned entity pledging support for POS agents in Agbado-Oke Odo LCDA, is Liberty Watchtower, a Non-Governmental Organisation with the primary aim of fighting social injustice and to propagate good governance.
“It is not right in any way. This amounts to multiple taxation and it is nothing more than killing small businesses in the country,” Afeez Adiatu, Coordinator of the NGO said.
According to Adiatu, his group wrote to the council upon receiving a copy of the circular distributed by the contractor, demanding that the planned enforcement should stop.
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He further said that should the council insist on going ahead with collecting the levy after the meeting with all stakeholders next week, “we will be left with no option than to file a suit in court”.
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