James Ojo, Abuja
The Amalgamated Union of Foodstuffs and Cattle Dealers of Nigeria has raised the alarm over multiple taxation from illegal gangs in some parts of the country.
National President of the Union, Mohammed Tahir Ibrahim, lamented that extortion of its members transporting cattle and other foodstuffs from the North to the South has become unbearable.
“Already, we’ve informed the president (Muhammadu Buhari) when we met him January 11, and he assured that he will take action on the multiple taxation. We have also met with the Inspector General of Police and he sent signals to all AIGs from zone 1 to 12, but basically we have problems with Zones 6, 9, 3 and 4.
“Despite the IG’s signal, nothing has been done about it. We have also written to ministers of Labour and Agriculture and Director of DSS. The only solution now is to withdraw our services and embark on nationwide strike,” he declared at a press briefing in Abuja, yesterday.
Mohammed explained that though the ministers have urged them not to embark on strike in the interest of the economy, failure to check the multiple taxation will leave the union with no option. He accused some state and local governments of using gangs to mount road blocks in the name of revenue drive to molest and sometimes injure their members.
“The extortion of members of our union has had a negative effect on prices of foodstuffs and beef. The multiple tax regimes adds over 100 percent cost on the ordinary prices of foodstuffs and beef. A truckload of cattle often amounts to about N450,000, which is higher than the transportation cost of N330,000,” he stated.
From the point of loading to where goods are discharged, he said there were over 300 military checkpoints, 110 police checkpoints, and other security agencies mounting separate checkpoints in 35 locations. States where members face worse difficulties are Benue, Plateau, Nasarawa, Kogi, Taraba, Cross River, Enugu,Anambra, Imo, Abia and Ebony