IMO STATE GOVT CAUTIONS SCHOOL HEADS AGAINST COVID-19 LEVY

Reporter: CHUKWUKA AGUKWE

Imo State Government has warned heads of public schools not to collect any levy under the guise of COVID-19 from students or pupils.

The Imo State Governor, Chief Hope Uzodimma, gave the warning during an Executive Council meeting at the Government House in Owerri.

The Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Declan Emelumba, who spoke with journalists onbehlaf of the Governor, warned that any principal caught indulging in collection of any form of levy would be appropriately dealt with.

According to him, the government has set up a committee headed by the Commissioner for Special Duties to collect data of all the private schools in the state, including their staff strength.

He further stated that all illegal mining activities by any agency in the state had been banned and called on the public to get clarification from the State Ministry of Environment before embarking on the business.

Mr. Emelumba announced that the construction work on Nekede-Ihiagwa road would soon commence and also appealed to former contractor to refund the mobilization fee of one-point-four billion naira (#1.4 billion Naira) paid by the previous administration since their contract had been terminated due to poor delivery.