As much as business sector operators have an axe to grind with the current government of President Bola Tinubu, 2 of its policies have however been singled out for commendation.
This is on account of the positive things that it has brought to bear on operators’ businesses.
The singling out was done by Premium Breadmakers Association of Nigeria (PBAN), through its president, Engr. Onuorah Emmanuel.
He named the 2 policies that have helped things in his sector to be:
- lifting of the 15% wheat import duty and
- removal of Value Added Tax (VAT) on wheat and grains
“That intervention helped stabilie bread prices. Before then, we were changing prices almost four times in a month just to stay afloat. Many of us had to lay off workers to remain in business,” Emmanuel said.
Yet, he identified 2 other challenges that still make things challenging
- Nigeria’s energy crisis and
- insecurity
“We rely on diesel to run our operations because public power supply is unreliable.
“Recently, our electricity tariff was increased by over 2,000% for Band A users, yet the voltage remains low.
“We are exploring solar alternatives, but they are still unaffordable for most of our members”.explained.
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The PBAN president informed that the insecurity in the northern region — Nigeria’s agricultural heartland — has literally crippled local wheat production efforts.
“Farmers can’t go to their farms without paying tolls to bandits or terrorists.
“How can we talk about backward integration when people risk their lives just to plant? The government must fix security because if you fix security, you fix everything,” Emmanuel stated.
On the government’s penchant to introduce taxes, he declared:
“Taxation doesn’t grow an economy. It only lies in the pockets of politicians.
“You can only tax wealth after you have created it.
“For now, excessive taxation is diminishing productivity and driving businesses into collapse,” he said.
Cami Ezenwa is a Writer, Editor, Publicist, Biographer and Journalism Trainer
He has worked with the Daily Times, Daily Independent, Financial Standard and Business Television to mention some.
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