Sola Ojo, Kaduna
Small and medium business operators in Kaduna, have called on the state government to look inward towards generating its own power to strengthen ease of doing business
The call was made, yesterday, during a one-day Open Government Partnership (OGP) community engagement on the status of the state’s action plan and dissemination of findings from Independent Review Mechanism (IRM), facilitated by Partnership to Engage, Reform and Learn (PERL), held in Kaduna.
Kaduna, as one of the local subscribers of OGP, has ease of doing business aimed at simplifying, opening and enhancing business environment as one of its five commitment areas.
A participant, who works with a non-governmental organisation, Legal Awareness for Nigeria Women (LEADS – Nigeria), Michael Aboh, alleged that the state government is more interested in collecting taxes than creating workable environment for businesses in the state.
“I run a small business outfit, where I rely more on using generating set, which is not good for me at all. The major issue we face is that of power to run our businesses. You spend more to run your business and you pay multiple taxes, and, at the end of the day, you have nothing left,” he said.