Association of Private Transport Company Owners of Nigeria (APTCON) has decried multiple and unlawful taxes being imposed on them by the government at the federal, state and local government levels.
The transporters have however notified Nigerians about the possibility of increasing transport fare by 500% if the issue of high taxation remains unaddressed.
According to the transporters, the government across the country have preyed on them through the imposition of multiple unsubstantiated charges for many years.
They noted that states such as Lagos, Abia, Rivers, Imo, Enugu, Kaduna, Delta and the Abuja Municipal Area Council are notorious for ceaselessly demanding the payment of one levy or the other from organised transport operators.
According to them, the levies are purely for financial gain and not caring about the impact these acts have on the profitability and sustainability of the affected businesses.
Other issues highlighted by the transporters include complete lack of support from the government, bad roads, indiscriminate harassment of passengers by law enforcement officers, insecurity, a high-interest rate on loans among others.
However, they attached a sample of the different tax and fees they have been paying which according to them has resulted in transporters considering increasing fare prices significantly as a survival mechanism.
