Delta State Government has said it will fully implement the Public/Private Properties Protection Law, also known as ”anti-deve” law that proscribed forceful entry into development sites, illegal collection of development levies and extortion by thugs to encourage accelerated development of the State.
The state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Peter Mrakpor, disclosed this when he met with Petroleum Depot operators in the State at the Government House Annex, Warri.
Mrakpor, a Barrister-at-Law, assured property developers and investors in the state that government was set to prosecute offenders of the law.
The Attorney General, who convened the meeting with Tank Farm Owners to resolve alleged double taxation and other irregularities the operators had contended with in the hands of different MDAs in charge of revenue collection and their agents, said the Okowa administration was not resting on its oars in providing a friendly environment for investors to operate.
He stressed the need for the oil depot owners to put in place a robust Corporate Social Responsibility agenda for its host communities as a way of supporting the state government in providing social amenities for the people.
The Delta Justice Commissioner advised the petroleum depot operators to comply with the local content act by providing employment for youths in their catchment areas, urging them to always liaise with government when carrying out their Corporate Social Responsibility to their host communities.
Mrakpor, who was confronted with the need for government to harmonize payments for environmental fees, tenement rates, business premises registration and renewal, fire certificates, waste disposal and treatment plant permit as they concerned the operators, promised to take their request into consideration when proposing amendment to the revenue laws of the state.
He, however, advised the operators not to pay bills into any account other than the state government’s dedicated revenue accounts through the State Board of Internal Revenue.
The Oil Depot Operators had told the Attorney-General that their companies always received bills from the Ministry of Environment and its agencies, Delta State Environmental Protection Agency, Waste Management Board, Ministry of Commerce and Industry as well as the Local Government Councils and urged the state government to harmonize the system.
The operators, who expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the meeting, pledged their support for the state government.
In an interview, the Executive Assistant to the Governor on Community Development, Honourable Innocent Esewezie dwelt on the significance of the meeting with the Oil marketers and condemned the incidence of double taxation which he promised would be handled by the Office of the Attorney-General in order to foster more robust relations with investors in the state.
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