The Kogi State government has refuted allegations by the cashew farmers and buyers in the state regarding an increment in produce grading costs, stressing that the new administration under Governor Usman Ododo will not transact business without following due process.
Recently, Kogi State farmers and buyers, under the aegis of the Farmers Forum of Nigeria, raised an alarm over a plot to increase the produce payment from ₦30,000 to ₦90,000.
The forum appealed to Governor Usman Ododo to halt multiple taxation in the state, stating that it would turn Kogi State into a laughing stock.
The spokesperson of the group, Barrister Ibrahim Adam, asked the state government to stop suffocating them, stating that they can no longer bear the burden of multiple taxation in the state.
According to the statement, “The Produce Inspection Department (PID) in Kogi State charges the highest inspection fee in the country at ₦30,000 per truck, while other states such as Kano, Gombe, Katsina, Yobe, and others charge significantly lower fees.
“The breakdown is as follows: Kogi PID ₦30,000, Kano PID ₦5000, Gombe PID ₦5,000, Katsina PID ₦3,000, Yobe PID ₦2,000, Nasarawa PID ₦20,000, Benue PID ₦25,000, Oyo PID ₦20,000, Niger PID ₦10,000, Bauchi PID ₦5,000, Jigawa PID ₦3,000, Yola PID ₦4,000, Kaduna PID ₦7,000, and Osun PID ₦10,000.
“Other unexplained receipts, which amount to multiple taxation imposed on Kogi state cashew buyers, have this breakdown of the various levies: interstate levy (AKA haulage fee) ₦13,000, IML ₦5,000, loading and offloading fee ₦12,000, pass ₦5,000, state environmental fee ₦6,000, local government environmental fee ₦5,000, and local government departmental fee ₦10,000″.
Reacting to the development, the Honorable Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Honorable Timothy Ojomah, promised to stabilize the grading cost, noting that there’s no such thing.
Ojomah, who represented the Executive Governor of the state, stated this while addressing the press in his office.
He therefore warned foreigners to desist from having direct contact with the farmers, as the grading costs remain the same.
He added that whoever is taking laws into their hands by extorting the marketers would have the government to contend with.