Some Kwara State citizens have decried the non-issuance of receipts by the officials of the Kwara State Liaison Office, Victoria Island, Lagos State, who daily collect the sum of N2,000 each from applicants seeking to obtain state of origin certificates.

The citizens condemned the refusal by the liaison office to issue receipts to applicants after the payment of N2,000 each, saying that such an action was an avenue to extort Kwara citizens and defraud the government.

It was learnt that about 20 persons visited the office on a daily basis to apply for the certificate.

A Kwara citizen, who resides in the Oke Afa area of Isolo, Lagos, Alhaji Isiaka Salawu, described the practice as fraudulent and urged the state government to look into the conduct of the office.

He added that the office declined to give him a receipt two months ago when he paid to obtain the certificate for his son.

He said, "It is highly nauseating and shameful that at the Kwara State Liaison Office on the Victoria Island, every applicant seeking to obtain the state of origin certificate is subjected to pay a sum of N2,000 without any receipt being issued from the office.

"When I paid for my son, I demanded a receipt but it was not given to me and so did many others in my presence. When I demanded an explanation, one of the officials told me it is the practice not to issue receipts. This is fraudulent and sheer extortion. This rip-off must stop. "

Another victim from the Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State said a receipt should be issued for the payment to ensure transparency and accountability.

The indigene, who did not want his name in print, said, "I got one about two months ago and paid N2,000. No receipt was issued to me. One of us, who also came for the certificate on that day, was furious about the development and he challenged the workers in the office.

The Kwara State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Mahmud Ajeigbe, told one of our correspondents that the government would investigate the allegation raised by the indigenes.

He, however, said the state government did not suspect any foul play, adding that the trend in the liaison office could have been caused by scarcity of receipts.

Ajeigbe said, "We are investigating the issue of non-issuance of receipts. We have called the necessary office and I was told it could be the shortage of receipts but they (the officials) are remitting the money."