Tony Osauzo, Benin
Authorities of the Egor Local Government Council have arrested two revenue enforcement workers of the Council for allegedly issuing fake receipts to unsuspecting commercial drivers.
The sum of N280,000 was believed to have been realised from the sale of the fake tickets. The sum was said to have been recovered from the suspects identified as Monday Esewi and Iyoha Osagie.
The revelation was made known when the council boss, Ms. Eghe Ogbemudia, accosted a commercial driver and demanded to know whether he has paid the approved daily ticket rate of N800.
The ticket provided by the driver reportedly shocked Ogbemudia as it was different from the official Council receipt.
This prompted the Council boss to lead other officials to Uselu Market where the driver said he obtained the ticket and found several booklets of fake receipts in possession of the suspects.
The Chairman was also said to have discovered that the racketeers usually begin the sale of fake tickets at 6:00am before resuming at the council secretariat at 8:00am to collect the genuine receipts.
Speaking to journalists in Benin, Ogbemudia said it was shocking for her to know that the people she empowered with jobs would be the ones to destroy the system.
“We discovered cash and fake receipts booklets from the two revenue enforcers. It was a driver that told me he bought the tickets at Uselu Market”, she said.
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The suspects however denied selling fake tickets to commercial motorists.
One the suspects, Monday, claimed that “Those receipts are not fake. They were given to us by staff of the local council.
On his part, Iyoha said, “I was shocked when they said the receipts are fake. All the tickets I sell everyday are collected from the council secretariat”.