Enugu State is set to deepen reforms in land administration and revenue collection with the introduction of a property identification application, while significantly reducing land use charge rates across different parts of the state.
The Chairman of the Enugu State Internal Revenue Service (ESIRS), Mr. Emmanuel Nnamani, disclosed this during a press briefing marking his third year in office, where he outlined major reforms undertaken by the agency to modernise revenue administration and make tax payment easier for residents.
Nnamani said the planned property identification application would assign a unique identification to every property captured under the land use charge system, providing the state with reliable property data while improving the administration and collection of the charge.
He said students and unemployed youths would be engaged to carry out the property enumeration exercise and would be paid weekly for their services.
“Students, unemployed youths are going to be engaged for the enumeration and we will pay them every week,” Nnamani said.
Land Use Charge Rates Reduced
Nnamani said the administration had substantially reduced land use charge rates, stressing that the charge remains an annual obligation for property owners.
According to him, the highest rate applicable to properties in high-value areas such as Independence Layout and GRA is now ₦70,000 annually, while residents in areas such as Emene and Abakpa will pay ₦20,000.
He said properties in rural communities would attract an annual charge of ₦10,000.
However, Nnamani clarified that the policy was not intended to impose the charge on people living in mud houses.
The reforms, he explained, are designed to make land use charge collection more transparent, predictable and sustainable while giving the government better information about properties across the state.
ESIRS Goes Fully Digital
The ESIRS chairman also highlighted a major transformation of the agency’s revenue collection system, saying the service had moved from a largely conventional civil service structure to a technology-driven revenue administration system.
He attributed the transformation to the autonomy granted ESIRS under the Enugu State Internal Revenue Service Establishment and Consolidated Revenue Law 2025, which, according to him, reduced bureaucratic interference and provided the institutional framework required to modernise the service.
“This autonomy as a service is actually an international standard in revenue collection. So the international standard is that if you must be the one collecting revenue, you must have autonomy, whereby you avoid so many bureaucracies. You also avoid some interference,” Nnamani said.
He said the reforms had also focused on changing the mindset of staff, improving their skills and creating a more technology-driven working environment.
Multiple Payment Channels
Nnamani said ESIRS had replaced its previous single payment gateway system with a central revenue management platform capable of supporting multiple payment channels.
“We now onboarded additional seven payment gateways to collect our revenue. Which include Remita, eTransact, FlutterWaves, MoneyPoint, Nineswift, UPS. And all of them are collecting money for us,” he said.
He explained that the arrangement prevents the failure of one payment platform from disrupting revenue collection across the state.
Taxpayers can now make payments through banks, the ESIRS website, ATM and debit cards, bank transfers and USSD.
The agency has also deployed more than 300 POS terminals across government offices, hospitals, area offices and other locations.
“Ease of payment is key. So that ease of payment helped us to collect money. Even on Saturdays, even on Sundays,” Nnamani said.
He added: “We now collect Monday to Monday.”
Revenue Collection Moves Into Informal Sector
The reforms have also extended to the informal sector, with ESIRS deploying electronic tickets to capture revenue from markets, transport operators, street traders and artisans.
Nnamani said the e-ticketing system consolidates the payments due to government and provides taxpayers with digital evidence of payment.
“We entered the informal sector using a technology called e-tickets. That technology is a beautiful thing in informal sector taxation in the entire country,” he said.
The agency has equally activated the collection of stamp duty and capital gains tax while expanding land use charge administration.
Nnamani said the reforms were helping to broaden the state’s revenue base while reducing leakages associated with cash collection.
“We ban cash collection of revenue. You know cash is never complete,” he said.
He said the combination of digital systems, improved payment channels, property data, informal-sector taxation and better staff capacity was positioning ESIRS to build a more efficient and transparent revenue administration system.
The reforms, he added, are intended not only to increase government revenue but also to make compliance easier for taxpayers and provide the state with better data for planning and administration.
