7,000 A’Ibom youths jostle for 1,000 tax jobs

APPROXIMATELY 7,000 youths of Akwa-Ibom State are reportedly in a hot scramble for only 1,000 placements in a tax consultancy firm engaged by the state government. Managing Director of Romflex Nigeria Limited, Mr. Eyo Bassey, disclosed this in Uyo, while addressing the Appropriation and Finance
Committee of the state House of Assembly on the operations of his tax consultancy firm, recently hired by the state government.

Bassey attributed the towering number of applicants to the advertisement for application by interested youths, which ran on the state-owned electronic media for several days.  “The applicants, when employed, are to be trained on revenue generation to assist the firm in the enumeration of more than one million tax payers in the state. “The recruitment exercise for the 1,000 youths would be conducted this month and already, 100 youths are on the payroll of the firm.

“We are committed to working in full capacity for the purpose of meeting this revenue target for the government to succeed,” Bassey assured, but implored the Assembly to formulate relevant laws to facilitate its operations in the state. Speaking, a member of the Committee and member representing Itu State Constituency, Hon Idongesit Ituen, urged the consultancy firm to ensure prompt payment of tax to the state government with evidence of payment made known the committee to guarantee sincerity of purpose.

Ituen also stressed the need for the management of the firm to relate well with members of the committee in the employment of indigenes of the state to guard against employing what he described as “bad eggs” into the system to frustrate government’s efforts in revenue generation.

Earlier, the Chairman of the Committee, Dr. Usoro Akpanusoh, pledged the resolve of the Assembly to encourage the management and staff of the tax consultancy outfit to operate successfully in the state. He acknowledged the fact that most of the tax laws that were operational in the state were as old as the Eastern region and so, requested the consultant to collaborate with the committee to review the law to enhance its operations.