You lied, SABMiller not our highest taxpayer, Anambra govt tells Peter Obi

The Anambra State Internal Revenue Service (AIRS) has publicly refuted a claim by former Governor Peter Obi that SABMiller Breweries is the highest taxpayer in the state.

In a statement released to clarify the matter on Thursday, the AIRS presented data showing that the brewery is, in fact, the sixth-highest corporate taxpayer.

The clarification came after the Service noted claims circulating in the public domain. According to data from 2023 and 2024, SABMiller paid a total of N656.5 million in taxes over the two-year period, placing it in a “distant sixth position.”

The former Anambra State governor stated this last Friday while addressing a gathering of Labour Party stalwarts and supporters at the All Saints Cathedral field, Onitsha, Anambra State, during the campaign flag-off of Labour Party candidate for the November 8, 2025 governorship election in the state, Dr George Moghalu, and his running mate.

“You can assess yourselves, governance for me is about compassion and empathy, caring for the lowly, petty traders. It is not these same poor masses you tax. Instead of ensuring they feed well and go to school.

“I have governed Anambra State and I don’t boast of things I didn’t do, they are verifiable.

The AIRS stated that this amounted to an average monthly payment of N28 million in 2023 and N26.62 million in 2024, a contribution it deemed insufficient to support the claim.

The Service’s data indicates that Fidelity Bank Plc holds the top position as the highest corporate taxpayer in the state. The clarification, according to the AIRS, was necessary to provide “undiluted information for members of the public to note” and to properly address the claims made by the former governor.

The AIRS also stressed the significant growth in its internally generated revenue (IGR) under the current administration.

The Service has seen monthly tax collections consistently rise from a previous range of N1.5 billion to N2.08 billion to a current average of N4 billion per month, with an all-time high of N10.5 billion recorded in May 2025.

“The attention of the Service has been drawn to some public domain of claims regarding the fact that SABMiller Breweries is the highest taxpayer in the State. For the avoidance of doubts, while the Service has made very monumental strides in increasing the internally generally revenue of the State from its very low ebb of between 1.5B to 2.08 per month, and even much lower in the previous years, the tax collection has consistently moved up to 4B per month and with an all-time high of 10.5B in the month of May, 2025.

“A double-check on the last two years data (see table below) on tax collections across corporate bodies including SABMiller but excluding Federal Institutions which contribute hugely to the State’s IGR, especially the pay as you carn (PAYE) taxes, showed the position of the top 6 taxpayers in the State.

“Interestingly, SABMiller company comes a distant sixth position behind Fidelity bank Ple with a gross tax payment of N656.5M in two years (2023 and 2024). In this sense, the claim can be dissmissd with a wave of hand as the company in question contributed on the average, N28M per month in 2023 and N26.62M per month in 2024.”

This revenue growth, the state government noted, excludes taxes from federal institutions which also contribute significantly to the state’s IGR, particularly through the Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) system.