By Ade Jacobs
Consumers will pay a levy for every loaf of bread consumed in Kogi State, according to the state government, which said the measure was to protect indigenous bakers and caterers in the state.
On Thursday, the state government said it has contracted a consultant, Musag Integrated Enterprises, with Registration Number 2476494, to collect the levy from the bakers and caterers.
The development, however, did not go down well with bakers in the state, under the aegis of the Association of Master Bakers and Caterers of Nigeria, AMBCN, which said the action could lead to a hike in the price of the commodity.
The state Commissioner for Information and Communication, Kingsley Fanwo said the new directive was intended to protect indigenous bakers from the destructive activities of their counterparts outside the State, noting that the levies were not new and that indigenous bakeries have been paying all their levies to the State Government in compliance to revenue law.
Fanwo said “the recent letter was one of our strategies at protecting our Indigenous bakers and also protecting our economy from the activities of bakers outside the State who bring their bread to the State without paying any form of levy. No responsible Government will sit by and watch her indigenous businesses lose the local market.
“Our indigenous bakers have complained bitterly about the activities of external bakers who packed their bread to the State in trucks and sell without paying anything to the State Government.
“Poor sales by our bakers may lead to job losses, a situation we are determined to use legitimate means to avert.
“As a Government, we have put in place tax relief measures to protect businesses from the unfortunate fangs of the Covid-19 pandemic. We are not insensitive to the plight of business owners at this critical period.”
He further explained that the state government will continue to provide an enabling environment for business to thrive as “We assure the Master Bakers of our open door policy and our readiness to keep listening to them in order to smoothen relationships and factors aiding their production as bread consumers have nothing to fear.”