Ekiti school seal-off: Fayemi apologises, warns tax officials against impunity

Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi has warned government agencies to refrain from acts capable of endangering the lives of the vulnerable segment of the society.

Fayemi was reacting to the public outcry that greeted the last Wednesday forceful sealing off the premises of a private school during school hours by tax officials.

The governor,in a release by Akin Omole,the Commissioner Ministry of Information and Values Orientation, also apologised to the affected school and parents over the recent  action of the State tax officials.

A  viral video had showed  the sealing off of a private school in Ado-Ekiti by officials of the State Internal Revenue Service thereby holding the pupils hostage for hours.

He disclosed that his government “recognises that schools are safe spaces and should be recognised as such. We have thus secured the assurances of the EKIRS that henceforth, no enforcement exercises should be carried out in schools during school hours. Tax enforcement in educational institutions henceforth must be in concert with the Ministry of Education.

“We recognise that with the COVID 19 pandemic, income of many businesses was severely affected in year 2020, especially educational institutions.

“In addition to the measures taken so far by the government to help individuals and businesses cope with the impact of the pandemic, we are facilitating an engagement between the Ekiti Internal Revenue Service (EKIRS) and the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS), to discuss ways of supporting school owners.

“Mr Governor has instructed that all government officials be reminded that in line with our ethos and track record, we serve at the pleasure of the people, and any acts of impunity by any government official would not be tolerated.

“We would like to use this medium to reiterate that while we remain committed to effective tax administration and enforcement in the state, the Government of Ekiti State places a very high premium on the protection of vulnerable segments of society, including our children, and would not condone any acts that would put them in harm’s way.” the statement reads in part.

“We continue to act on the subject which is a priority matter to H.E. Governor Kayode Fayemi, and the Government of Ekiti State, Nigeria. We empathise with all those who were affected by the circumstances surrounding the referenced enforcement exercise and apologise for the inconveniences.

“We acknowledge that there were many things that should have been done differently and are committed to ensuring we use the key learnings from this incident to forestall a reoccurrence in the future.

Since we came to learn about the matter, as mentioned in our February 18, 2021 statement, we visited the school and ascertained that no pupil was being held and that there was unrestricted access in and out of the school.

“We have since conducted follow-up visits to the school and engaged a broad range of stakeholders including the school authorities, the Parents Teachers Association (PTA) of the school, as well as the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS) and can confirm that normal educational activities are going on at the school.

“We have also engaged extensively with the authorities at the Ekiti State Internal Revenue Service (EKIRS) especially the officials involved in the exercise. We have listened to all parties on the matter and the following steps have been taken

“There are existing protocols to ensure that every school in Ekiti state can reach a contact person in the Ministry of Education concerning emergencies or matters of safety and security during school hours, and even after-hours in cases of boarding schools.

“This policy and the relevant contact details would once again be disseminated widely with stakeholders – in this case to all private schools through the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS).”(Daily Independent)