By Obinna Eze Oriaku
It is becoming increasingly evident that the Alex Otti-led administration in Abia State has allowed politics of bitterness to infiltrate even the most basic institutions of governance. What should have been a professional revenue system designed to enhance the state’s internally generated revenue (IGR) has, under this administration, degenerated into a political weapon used to witch-hunt perceived opponents and frustrate patriotic citizens who dare to think differently.
My recent experience with the Abia State Board of Internal Revenue serves as a painful testament to this rot. It exposes not only the collapse of professionalism within the state’s civil service but also the deep-seated vindictiveness driving the machinery of Otti’s government.
Last week, I decided to update my tax clearance certificate a basic civic requirement for my Senate confirmation. Despite residing in Enugu, I have always paid my taxes in Abia as a responsible indigene committed to the growth of my state. I already possessed valid tax certificates for 2021, 2022, and 2023. The goal was simply to obtain the 2024 clearance.
A friend had cautioned me against going through the Abia Board of Internal Revenue, warning that my political history and outspoken stance might attract unnecessary hostility. But I waved off the advice, confident that governance had risen above pettiness. Unfortunately, I was wrong.
Upon engaging a staff of the revenue board to process my 2024 tax, I was shown an official circular dated October 7, 2025, issued by the Executive Chairman of the Abia State Board of Internal Revenue, Prof. Udochukwu Ogbonna. The memo clearly pegged the new direct tax benchmark at ₦70,000 for professionals and ₦50,000 for traders and farmers.
Yet, when the approving officer discovered that the applicant was Obinna Oriaku, their so-called “political nightmare,” everything changed. My assessment was arbitrarily inflated to ₦117,000, and even after payment, my certificate was still withheld.
Later, I received a call from another staff member, demanding that I undergo a “verification interview.” I was asked needless personal questions about my occupation, income, and affiliations. It was then I realized this was not about tax, it was about politics.
Shockingly, the revenue officers went as far as to retroactively alter my previous tax records for 2022, 2023, and 2024, more than doubling the figures. In their desperation, they even included 2025, a fiscal year still ongoing in their manipulated assessment.
To crown their absurdity, I was handed a ₦483,000 bill, a baseless and vindictive recalibration meant to humiliate and punish me for daring to remain politically independent.
It is unthinkable that an administration that prides itself on transparency and reform would allow such brazen victimization to thrive. The Abia State Revenue Board, under Alex Otti’s watch, has become a cesspool of political witch-hunting an institution where loyalty, not legality, determines who gets served.
What kind of government punishes its own citizens for fulfilling their civic obligations? How does a state expect to grow its IGR when taxpayers are harassed, profiled, and intimidated for their political beliefs?
While the Abia Board of Internal Revenue spent over a week frustrating a simple tax process, the Enugu State Internal Revenue Service completed the same procedure within two hours. The Chairman of the Enugu IRS, a former banking colleague, facilitated a seamless process issuing me a verified 2024 Tax Clearance Certificate within an hour of payment through their digital platform.
That’s the difference between governance built on professionalism and governance corrupted by politics.
Governor Alex Otti’s government came into power on the promise of reform, accountability, and service delivery. Sadly, what Abians are witnessing today is the reverse, a government so obsessed with vendetta that it stifles its own economic growth.
Institutions like the Abia State Board of Internal Revenue should be apolitical. They are meant to encourage compliance, build trust, and attract investment. Instead, under Otti’s government, they have been turned into instruments of oppression blackmailing political opponents and discouraging voluntary compliance from citizens.
The message from the Abia revenue office is loud and clear: if you are not politically aligned with the current regime, you will be victimized, humiliated, and financially punished. That is not governance; that is tyranny wearing the garment of reform.
I have since instructed my lawyer to pursue legal redress against the Abia State Board of Internal Revenue for unlawful manipulation, financial damage, and gross violation of my civic rights. The agency must refund my trapped funds and publicly account for this shameful act.
Citizens’ rights must not be trampled upon for political reasons. No state grows under fear, intimidation, or persecution. A government that cannot separate governance from vendetta is a danger to democracy and a curse to development.
If Governor Alex Otti truly desires to build a “New Abia,” he must first purge his administration of this culture of hate and restore professionalism across public institutions. Otherwise, the promise of a new dawn will remain a mirage while the rot deepens under his very nose.
Abia cannot move forward when those entrusted to serve the people are busy settling political scores. Real growth comes only when justice, fairness, and professionalism replace vengeance, arrogance, and deceit.
Obinna Oriaku
Former Abia State Finance Commissioner 2015 to 2019
Ekwedike
