From Moshood Karim
The Edo State Government has dismissed circulating rumours suggesting the introduction of a new tax regime for private schools across the state.
In a statement issued in Benin City, the Commissioner for Information and Communication, Mr Paul Ohonbamu, described the reports as “malicious fabrications and diabolical concoctions” designed by the State’s detractors.
Mr Ohonbamu clarified that taxation is a matter of legislation, emphasising that no law mandating a new tax for private schools has been passed by the Edo State House of Assembly. He further noted that there is no executive bill before the Assembly proposing such a measure.
The commissioner denounced the claim that private schools would be required to pay between ₦30,000 and ₦35,000 per student as part of a new tax assessment, insisting that the report is entirely false.
He stressed that the rumour is a deliberate attempt to undermine the achievements of Governor Monday Okpebholo’s administration.
“The APC-led government in Edo State will not tax poverty but rather strive to uplift its citizens,” the statement read. “As Paulo Freire teaches in *Pedagogy of the Oppressed*, the duty of any responsible government is to prevent the creation of a permanent underclass, not to exploit the vulnerable.”
Mr Ohonbamu further highlighted that even the tax reform currently under discussion at the National Assembly aims to exempt low-income earners from personal income tax, underscoring Governor Okpebholo’s commitment to protecting the poor from undue financial burdens.
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