The Kogi state chapter of the National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN) has appealed to the Federal Government to look into the issue of multiple taxations and illegal revenue collection by the state government and its agencies.
Sule Ochanya, the state chairman of the association who made the appeal recently during the chapter’s meeting, said that cashew stakeholders have realised that the state government encourages its agencies to impose numerous levies on farmers growing the crop in the state.
Ochanya equally disclosed that both sellers and buyers were constantly harassed, intimidated and threatened on the farms.
He added that cashew dealers were also forced to buy the state’s jute bag at a higher cost of N1,000 instead of the usual N470, with a margin of N530 per bag in favour of the state government.
Ochanya equally made an appeal to the Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources, the Senate President, the Speaker House of Representatives, the Speaker of the Kogi House of Assembly, the Federal Inland Revenue Service, and Inspector General of Police lamenting that states like Nasarawa, Enugu, Edo, Niger and Benue collect N20,000 per truck in loading the produce of the states but Kogi collects about half a million naira.
The NCAN chairman also disclosed that about 85 percent of the total population of the state are cashew farmers and traders, saying the high taxes had drastically inflicted more hardship on the people.
“Kogi State government cannot be an exception from other cashew producing state in the country,” he added.
Victoria Nnakiaike, Lokoja
