Governor Yahaya Bello Denies Imposition Of Tax On Loaves of Bread, Vow to Sanction officials

Governor Yahaya Bello, of Kogi State has denied the alleged imposition of tax on loaves of bread in Kogi State.

Bello denied the allegations in statement signed by his deputy, Edward Onoja.

Onoja said ” neither the Governor nor the state executive council has imagined or proposed such a devilish tax regime, how much less imposing same on any food or essential commodity, not to mention bread which is a table staple and the basic lifeline of many a household”.

Another said Bello ordered him to debunks the allegations, he said “I am directed by His Excellency to issues a statements on the news of an alleged tax imposed on each loaf of bread to be sold in Kogi State.

“There is no iota of truth in the claims that we have approved such wickedness, because we have not and cannot.”

He therefore rejected the notion that ‘we can now impose a tax on individual loaves of bread sold in the state.’ The Deputy Governor said that no extra financial burden will apply for the time being on citizens and assured that ‘any business which has met the regulatory requirements for doing business in Kogi State including payment of routine tax is entitled to operate freely, and that includes bakeries and bread traders.’ The statement also promised that the Kogi State Government will deal decisively with any person who tries to extort the public.

Meanwhile Below is the initial statement issued by the Commissioner of Information and Communication Strategies, Hon. Kingsley Fanwo, in contrast to the Governor Bello’s later denial.

Gov Bello’s Bread Levy, The Facts And Fallacies – Kogi Information Commissioner

Kogi State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Kingsley Fanwo, has said the government imposed levy on every loaf of bread sold in the state in order to protect indigenous bakers from those “who bring bread to the state without paying any form of levy”. Fanwo disclose this in a statement he signed on Friday titled, ‘The Facts About The Bakery Levies’. Fanwo’s response in the same story Reacting, Fanwo said, “The recent letter was one of our strategies at protecting our Indigenous bakers and also protect 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. “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.”