Mbah’s Projects Win Applause in Enugu, But Tax Burden Is Beginning to Hurt

 There is a growing paradox in Enugu State.

On one hand, residents and stakeholders are acknowledging the visible transformation taking place under Governor Peter Mbah, particularly in roads, water infrastructure, education, healthcare, transportation, security and the revival of public assets.

On the other hand, an increasing number of traders, business owners, private school proprietors, transport operators and other residents are expressing frustration over what they describe as a heavy tax and levy burden at a time when households and businesses are already struggling with the broader economic hardship in Nigeria.

The result is an increasingly difficult question for the government: How can the state sustain its ambitious development programme without making the ordinary citizen feel that the price of progress is becoming too expensive?

Governor Mbah’s administration has pointed to substantial investments across the state. The government says it has embarked on the rehabilitation and construction of roads, expansion of water infrastructure, 260 Smart Green Schools, 260 Type-2 Primary Healthcare Centres, modern transport terminals and other projects. Recent assessments have also highlighted the revival of abandoned public assets and the launch of Enugu Air.

The governor has received praise from several stakeholders for these interventions. In May 2026, for instance, prominent Enugu stakeholders publicly commended his administration, with some describing the pace of development as unprecedented. But away from ceremonies, political endorsements and project commissioning, another conversation is taking place in markets, offices, schools, workshops, motor parks and business premises. It is the conversation about taxes.

For many entrepreneurs, the issue is not necessarily opposition to paying taxes. Rather, the concern is about the cumulative financial pressure created when taxes, levies, charges, permits and other statutory payments are added to the already high cost of electricity, transportation, fuel, rent, salaries, goods and raw materials.

A 2025 report documented complaints from Enugu traders and business owners over increased annual payments, with some shop owners saying their bills had risen substantially compared with previous years. Private school owners have similarly complained about what they described as sharp increases in regulatory fees. In 2024, proprietors told journalists that annual fees for some categories of private schools had risen from about N30,000 to amounts ranging from N450,000 to N2.2 million, depending on the institution.

The transport sector has also voiced concerns. Commercial drivers and tricycle operators have complained about the cumulative burden of taxes and daily charges, with some operators alleging significant increases in their daily payments. More recently, the issue boiled over at Obollo-Afor Market, where traders shut their shops in August 2026 to protest what they described as a selective N25,000 haulage levy on trucks loading and offloading goods. The Enugu State Internal Revenue Service subsequently explained that the levy was not intended to be paid by traders buying or selling goods in the market.

The complaints underline a wider concern: when the cost of doing business rises, somebody eventually pays the bill. It may be the trader, who increases the price of goods. It may be the transport operator, who raises fares. It may be the private school proprietor, who increases school fees. It may be the manufacturer, who adjusts the cost of products. Or, ultimately, it may be the consumer, who is already battling inflation and shrinking purchasing power.

This is where the debate over taxation becomes more than a government-revenue issue. It becomes an issue of household welfare, employment and the survival of small and medium-sized businesses. To its credit, the state government has not ignored complaints altogether. In April 2026, the government announced the suspension of daily N200 tolls imposed on petty traders, saying the decision was designed to protect vulnerable citizens and support micro, small and medium-scale enterprises. The government also maintains that the tax reforms are intended to eliminate multiple taxation, block revenue leakages and create a more efficient system of revenue collection.

The Executive Chairman of the Enugu State Internal Revenue Service, Ekene Nnamani, said in April that a harmonised system had introduced a flat N36,000 annual levy for traders and informal-sector operators, replacing multiple collections by different agencies. He said the reforms had helped increase internally generated revenue substantially.

Governor Mbah himself has rejected the description of Enugu as a high-tax state, arguing that the administration is principally widening the tax net, blocking leakages and improving collection rather than arbitrarily imposing taxes. That argument deserves consideration.

A government needs revenue to provide roads, schools, hospitals, security, water and other public services. A broader and more transparent tax base can also be preferable to a system in which only a few taxpayers carry the burden while revenue leaks through inefficient collection.

But the concerns being expressed by businesses deserve equal attention. Tax harmonisation on paper does not automatically mean that the burden feels lighter in the real economy. A trader who is required to pay one consolidated amount may still see that payment as enormous if sales are falling. A transport operator may still struggle even when several charges are merged into one ticket. A school proprietor may still find regulatory fees difficult to absorb when parents themselves are struggling to pay school fees.

What many residents appear to be asking for is therefore not a tax-free Enugu. They are asking for a more humane tax system — one that recognises the economic realities confronting the people. They want government to consider the size and turnover of businesses, provide genuine relief for vulnerable operators, prevent duplication of charges, improve communication between revenue agencies and taxpayers, and ensure that enforcement does not become an additional source of hardship. They also want to see the benefits of taxation more directly reflected in their daily lives.

The logic is simple: people are more willing to pay when they can clearly see where their money is going. For Governor Mbah, this may ultimately become one of the most important tests of his administration. The infrastructure achievements may be visible. The roads may be wider, schools more modern, water projects more ambitious and public transportation more organised. But economic development cannot be measured only by the number of projects commissioned.

It must also be measured by the ability of a trader to keep his shop open, a mechanic to retain his apprentices, a transporter to maintain his vehicle, a school proprietor to remain in business, a manufacturer to keep workers on the payroll and an ordinary family to afford food, transport and education. Enugu cannot build a prosperous future by weakening the businesses and citizens expected to create that future.

The challenge before the Mbah administration, therefore, is not simply how to raise more revenue, but how to strike the delicate balance between funding development and protecting livelihoods. Governor Mbah has earned applause for many of the physical changes taking place across Enugu. The next applause may come from an equally important achievement: creating a tax environment in which residents can say, without hesitation, that while they are contributing to the development of their state, they are not being priced out of the very economy they are helping to build.

That is the balance the people of Enugu appear to be asking for — development with a human face.

Written by

Journalist Chinyere Nnaemeka

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