By Asuquo Edem The Chairman of the Akwa Ibom State Internal Revenue Service (AKIRS), Sir Okon Okon, has assured residents that the proposed State tax reform bills before the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly are designed to protect low-income earners, stimulate small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs), and strengthen economic growth, despite concerns and dissenting opinions raised by some stakeholders. Sir Okon gave the assurance on Wednesday during a public hearing on three executive bills organised by the House Committee on Finance and Appropriation. The bills include the Akwa Ibom State Revenue Service and Administration Bill 2025, Akwa Ibom State Taxes and Levies Bill 2025, and the Akwa Ibom State Betting and Lottery Regulatory Agency Bill 2025. Addressing stakeholders, the AKIRS chairman—who is also a member of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms—said the reforms would eliminate multiple taxation, harmonise tax administration across the state, ...
By Asuquo Edem As 2027 approaches, political conversations across Akwa Ibom North-East Senatorial District are beginning to shift from speculation to substance. In every democratic cycle, this moment often invites heightened scrutiny of those entrusted with public office—not through rhetoric or sentiment, but through records, results, and verifiable impact. Beyond the rising political noise, one fact remains constant: effective representation is best measured by performance. In legislation, oversight, advocacy, and constituency development, the scorecard of Senator Aniekan Bassey has steadily taken shape over the past years, revealing a pattern of deliberate governance, institutional responsibility, and people-centred interventions across the senatorial district. This feature examines that record—not as a response to personalities or partisan exchanges, but as a factual assessment of representation anchored on evidence. As the next electoral cycle draws nearer, the focus na...