By our Reporter
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.
