OKPEBHOLO DECLARES WAR ON REVENUE LEAKAGES, SECRET ACCOUNTS AND ILLEGAL TAX COLLECTION IN EDO

Signs Revenue Consolidation Account Law, orders all MDAs to surrender funds and close separate revenue accounts within 14 days • Unauthorized collectors, complicit officials face investigation and sanctions

Governor Monday Okpebholo has launched a decisive crackdown on revenue leakages, unauthorized collections and the diversion of public funds across Edo State.

In a sweeping reform designed to ensure that every naira collected on behalf of Edo people is properly accounted for, the Governor has signed the Edo State Revenue Consolidation Account (Establishment and Operation) Law, 2026.

The new law centralizes the collection, custody and disbursement of government revenue while strengthening transparency, fiscal discipline and public accountability across ministries, departments, agencies, parastatals and government institutions.

Under the law, every government agency has been given 14 days to disclose all revenue bank accounts under its control, transfer the balances into the approved Internally Generated Revenue account and close the separate accounts.

The era in which government institutions collected public money, retained it in different accounts and spent it at source without centralized oversight has effectively been brought to an end.

All MDAs must also submit their revenue statements, supporting records and bank account details covering the period from January 1, 2025, to the commencement of the law. The records will be subjected to a comprehensive revenue audit by the Ministry of Finance, the Auditor-General of the State and the Edo State Internal Revenue Service.

The law further prohibits MDAs from independently appointing revenue agents or consultants, conducting revenue-enforcement operations or establishing mobile courts without the required authorization.

All existing revenue consultants must be regularized with the EIRS within 60 days.

In a strong warning to public officials, the government declared that any accounting officer, agency head, director of finance, bursar, treasurer or other official who violates the law risks immediate suspension pending investigation.

Individuals caught collecting, diverting, withholding or illegally receiving government revenue will also face investigation and appropriate sanctions. Officials who authorized, facilitated or permitted such activities will be held jointly accountable.

The reform places the Edo State Internal Revenue Service at the centre of revenue collection, supervision and enforcement across the state. The EIRS is also empowered to deploy technology-driven systems that will improve monitoring, block leakages and reduce opportunities for manipulation.

For residents and business owners, the message is equally important: revenue collection in Edo State must now be coordinated, traceable and authorized. No individual, agency or consultant has the right to impose or collect government revenue outside the legally approved system.

The Okpebholo administration said the reform aligns Edo State with Nigeria’s new tax reforms and will protect citizens from multiple taxation, illegal levies, harassment and exploitation.

This is more than the creation of another government account. It is a direct attack on the hidden channels through which public revenue can disappear—and a firm declaration that money belonging to Edo people must work for Edo people.

One government. One coordinated revenue system. Full accountability for every naira.