NationalMirror Benin Airport shut over N39m tax debts by SEBASTINE EBHUOMHAN AND OLUSEGUN KOIKI on Jul 31, 2013 | Posted under: Highlights, News . Oshiomhole, FAAN trade blames over closure The newly-renovated Benin Airport was shut down yesterday, leaving many passengers stranded as the Edo State Government and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, engaged in a tussle over tax debts amounting to N39.6m. The Edo State tax authorities had claimed that FAAN owed N14.9m, while the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, NAMA, owed N24.7m in backlog of tenement rates and other charges but the aviation agencies insisted that they were exempted from paying such taxes. The circumstances that led to the closure appeared unclear with both the state government and FAAN trading blames. Already, at least 10 daily flights operating in and out of the airport by local carriers, including Aero and Arik Air, have been suspended, leaving angry passengers stranded mostly in Lagos and Benin. An Arik Air flight that managed to land in the afternoon could not take-off from the airport owing to the shutdown. Giving his own account of how the airport was shut, Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole in an address at the Government House yesterday denied that the state government shut down the airport as it lacked such power under the laws. The governor said that the state government served an administrative order on FAAN after obtaining same from a duly constituted court of law, informing the airport manager of the tax debts. He said that instead of dialoguing with the tax officials, the manager allegedly took the laws into his hands, descending on the officials of Edo State Board of Internal Revenue, who served the notice on him and thereafter, shut down the airport so as to turn the heat against the state government. Oshiomhole said: “When the airport manager was served the notice, he in turn shut down the lounge and other offices. He shut it down so that nobody will go in or come out of the airport. “Just to put it on record, the Edo State government did not shut down the airport. It was done by the manager who wanted to use it as a shield against the tax of his workers that he has not paid. “The logic of the rule of law is that everybody is under the law. Nobody is above the law. The airport manager assaulted the revenue board officials. He also assaulted a cameraman. “I am obliged to pay my tax and I am liable if I don’t pay. The fact of being a governor does not preclude me from paying my tax.” Oshiomhole also accused the police of unfair treatment in the matter, saying that the Inspector-General of Police ordered the state commissioner of police to arrest the Chairman of Edo State Board of Internal Revenue, Chief Oseni Elamah, over the disagreement. He wondered why the police would arrest a law abiding citizen in place of another who commits a criminal offence of not paying his tax and not remitting the duly paid taxes of others. Efforts to get the reaction of the Airport Manager, Mr. Sunday Ayodele, were not successful as he refused to pick calls to his mobile telephone. However, FAAN said it was the Edo State Government that “forcefully entered the premises of the Benin Airport and shut out all workers and airport users at the airport, including air passengers and airline operators, claiming that the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria had not paid relevant taxes, including tenement rate, to the state government.” In a statement yesterday, FAAN’s General manger, Public Affairs, Mr. Yakubu Dati, said the action was “in contravention of the laws setting up the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, operators of the airport. “Sub-section 25, Section IV of the Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (Cap. F5) of 2004, establishing the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria states clearly that ‘The Authority shall be exempted from the payment of taxes and tenement rates and any arrears whatsoever in connection thereto.’ He described the action of the Edo State Government as “not only unlawful but provocative” because it is a well known fact that all airport lands are acquired by the Federal Government and are exempted from paying charges to the States where they are located. “The unlawful closure of the airport by the state government and the invasion of the airport’s restricted area by unauthorized individuals is a security breach which no responsible government should be seen to be encouraging, especially in view of the present security situation in the country. “We wish to assure all passengers, airline operators and other airport users that the authority is taking urgent steps to ensure that the airport is re-opened for normal flight operations immediately, even as we regret any inconvenience caused them by this unannounced and unlawful closure of the airport,” the statement added. The General Secretary of the National Union of Air Transport Employees, NUATE, Abdulkareem Motajo, said that by the Act setting up the agency, FAAN was not liable to pay any tax to any state government. He, however, said that what brought about the closure of the airport wouldn’t have started today, saying that correspondences would have exchanged hands between the two parties. He said: “I want to believe there were some correspondences between FAAN and Edo State Government and at such instance, one would have expected that the issue would have been resolved amicably or legally one side should have taken the case to the court of competent jurisdiction so that the issue is adjudicated upon and the party is told to do what is right. “Now, to have gotten to this level of government closing down the airport, inconveniencing passengers, I think it is totally wrong, but I don’t want to blame the either side. However, we are not privy to what has happened to the two sides before today.” It will be recalled that about two months ago, a private helicopter flying the governor to Awka, the Anambra State capital, was recalled midair by the FAAN authorities who alleged that Oshiomhole’s pilot did not file the necessary flight details before taking-off. The governor later abandoned the trip after being delayed for about two hours.
Posted on: Wed, 31 Jul 2013 09:40:52 +0000
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