Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has pledged the commitment of the FCT Administration to end harassment of motorists by touts in the name of revenue collection.
Wike gave the assurance in Abuja on Thursday, during the Ministerial Sectoral briefing on the performance of President Bola Tinubu’s administration in the last one year.
He said that the FCT Administration had reached an agreement with all the Area Council Chairmen to empower FCT Internal Revenue Service to collect all revenues.
He said that the FCT Administration had reached an agreement with all the Area Council Chairmen to empower FCT Internal Revenue Service to collect all revenues.
He explained that after the collection, the area councils would be given their share, stressing “that is the only way we can have decency in revenue collection in the territory.
“That way, we will reduce touting, harassment and double taxation. After all, the law allows the area councils to take 10 per cent of FCT IGR.
“One of the things in a city is that, everybody wants to survive. So, you find some of these elements from time to time.
“But bear it in mind that, it is part of our responsibility. We are going to rid them off, but it cannot be done immediately,” the minister said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that motorists in the FCT were being harassed by touts who claimed to be working for a ministerial taskforce against illegal parking.
Others claimed to be revenue collectors from AMAC.
The touts usually force themselves into private vehicles and forcefully remove the car keys from ignition in the name of illegal parking or other purported infractions
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
