Former governorship aspirant and political commentator, Chika Nwoba, has warned business owners against investing in Ebonyi State after a woman in Abakaliki complained about what she described as multiple tax demands only a few months after opening her shop.
Nwoba shared a video of the woman on Facebook on Thursday, August 13, 2026, alongside a strong warning to prospective investors to stay away from Abakaliki and other parts of the state.
In the video, the woman displayed papers relating to different taxes and levies she had been asked to pay. She complained that she was being heavily taxed despite barely making sales from her newly opened business.
According to the woman, there are times when she opens her shop and makes no sales at all, yet she is still expected to pay various taxes.
She also said she received two more documents that morning for additional payments she was expected to make, despite having only opened the shop and not having sold anything.
Reacting to the video, Nwoba said the incident was similar to what he experienced as a business owner in Abakaliki.
“This was why I said that nobody should come and establish business in Abakaliki now,” Nwoba wrote.
He said he closed his own business at Presco, Abakaliki, in October 2025, adding that his experience had reinforced his position on doing business in the state.
“I reiterate that nobody should bring their investment in Abakaliki or any part of Ebonyi now. You’ll regret it if you do,” he said.
Nwoba blamed Governor Francis Nwifuru’s administration for creating an unfriendly environment for businesses.
“This governor isn’t business friendly. He never did business. He doesn’t know what buying and selling entails,” he wrote.
He also questioned the business environment in Abakaliki, saying there was little patronage for business owners.
“As a business owner, there’s no patronage because Abakaliki is a ghost town,” Nwoba said.
He added that revenue generated through taxes was not being properly reflected in development across the state.
“The governor isn’t doing anything with the money so generated in tax,” he wrote.
Nwoba also decried the administration’s handling of revenue collection, alleging that Governor Nwifuru gave his siblings revenue collection contracts.
The claim has previously been denied by the Ebonyi State Internal Revenue Service.
In February 2025, the Executive Chairman of the Ebonyi State Internal Revenue Service, Christopher Omo Isu, dismissed reports that the agency had engaged relatives of Nwifuru as revenue agents or contractors.
“The Board never engaged any relative of the Governor as a revenue agent or contractor,” Isu said.
He added that revenue contracts were awarded to companies through competitive bidding.
“The Board awarded revenue contracts to reputable companies through competitive bidding, and anything to the contrary is a product of the writer’s imagination,” he said.
Nwoba, however, maintained his warning to business owners, saying he was speaking as someone who had personally experienced the business environment in the state.
“I’m from Ebonyi and I am a victim of what you’re watching in this video,” he said.
He added: “Stay away from Ebonyi with your business if you don’t want to cry like this lady here and others alike.”
Nwoba also referred to what he described as a situation in which “108 siblings are governing the state,” while blaming former Governor David Umahi and former President Muhammadu Buhari for the political situation in Ebonyi.
“David Umahi & Buhari did us evil,” he wrote.
His comments come amid continuing debate over taxation, revenue collection and the ease of doing business in Ebonyi.
Governor Nwifuru has previously spoken against indiscriminate taxation of petty traders. In March 2024, he directed revenue officials not to tax vegetable sellers and other petty traders, saying officials should instead focus on bigger businesses and wealthy tax evaders.
The latest video has renewed questions over how tax demands are being experienced by small business owners in Abakaliki.