PDP Candidate Alleges Tax Witch-Hunt Against Varsity In Cross River

PDP governorship candidate in Cross River State, Sir Arthur Jarvis, has accused the Governor Bassey Otu-led administration of launching tax investigations against his privately owned university, Arthur Jarvis University, after years of alleged neglect and lack of support from the state government.

The PDP candidate made the remarks while raising an alarm over attempts by tax authorities in the state to clamp down on the university.

“A state government that has not given us even a pin is now sitting together to find out what taxes we have not paid,” he stated, describing the action as “so insulting.”

The allegation follows reports that tax officials are seeking to clamp down on Arthur Jarvis University. Jarvis alleged that the scrutiny is tied to a wider pattern targeting the opposition.

He linked it to the recent marking of his running mate, Alphonsus Eba’s house in the Water Board Estate, for demolition, calling both incidents part of “the so-called crushing of the opposition.”

Founded in 1999, Arthur Jarvis University is Cross River’s first private university. Jarvis wondered why a university that employs over 500 people and has awarded scholarships to more than 200 students has received nothing from the state in return.

“Private universities in other states get grants of up to N500 million and above. Their roads are done. Here, not even a pin. All letters seeking to see the governor since he was sworn in have not been approved,” he said.

Jarvis said attention has now shifted to the university’s tax records.

“The news circulating is that they are trying to get into the school to find out what taxes we have not paid,” he alleged.

He insisted that the institution is compliant and up to date with its taxes, saying, “We even pay a high-net-worth tax of N1 million per year. If we did not pay, they would not have given us tax clearance.”

He described the planned audit as politically motivated.

“They should come and tell us what they have done for the state in the past 10 years instead of witch-hunting people,” Jarvis said. “If they had done well, there would be no need for this.”

The PDP candidate also connected the tax issue to the Water Board land dispute and warned the government not to go after his university.

“They’re coming after me once they finish with Eba,” Jarvis maintained.

He advised the government “not to start what it will not be able to finish.”

But in a swift reaction, the Cross River State Commissioner for Information, Dr. Erasmus Ekpang, dismissed the allegations and urged calm.

Ekpang stated that tax payment is an “obligation that even the opposition must not shirk. You cannot be benefiting from a system and fail to do that which is expected of you.”

Ekpang accused Arthur Jarvis and Alphonsus Eba of being afraid of the 2027 contest, saying that “they have already failed in advance. Arthur Jarvis and Eba cannot stop the government from doing that which is right.”