12, Marine Road
Lokoja,
Kogi State.
His Excellency
Alhaji Yahaya Bello
Executive Governor of Kogi State,
Lokoja.
Dear Sir,
Imminent Sanction of Kogi Permanent Secretary Over Unauthorized Bread Levy: An Appeal
With reference to the query directed at the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Usman Ibrahim, from the Head of Service, over a controversial memo introducing levy on every loaf of bread produced in Kogi state without approval from the Commissioner, I write to appeal that Your Excellency put aside the politically motivated ’embarrassment’ and investigate the issue from ‘cradle to grave’.
The helpless Permanent Secretary was given 24 hours to respond to the query which means by end of work today, his reply will largely seal his fate. If he is not dismissed from service, other sanctions will be meted on him as provided by the public service rules.
From the contents of the official query, the Permanent Secretary is on his way to ‘Golgotha’. The Head of Service, without mincing words, spelt out clearly that the Permanent Secretary denied knowledge of the memo but her investigation proved otherwise. He is doomed.
However, while I will not support unprofessional conducts as described in the query, I want Your Excellency to review the ‘Bread Levy’ conundrum – what probably led to its now unofficial introduction, those responsible for the action who may have covered their tracks now and refrain from being goaded to taking a hasty decision.
Your Excellency, I want to believe you are aware that the issue of ‘Bread Levy’ was not the idea of your administration but that of Association of Master Bakers and Caterers of Nigeria (AMBCN), Kogi State Branch.
The Kogi state chapter of AMBCN had in August this year demanded that non-Kogi bakers register with N500,000 before bringing in their products to the state.
In a letter dated August 15, the association told one of the non-Kogi bakers to show evidence of payment of the registration fee, adding: “Failure to do this, your products are not allowed for sales all over Kogi state.”
Your Excellency, I believe you read news reports where a member of AMBCN, Ismail Abubakar, advocated that non-Kogi bakers be made to register with the state branch of the association and be captured in the state’s tax net.
The member, as reported, confirmed that the association has met with the state’s internal generated revenue agency, and discussed the measures taken against non-Kogi bakers.
AMBCN have legitimate reasons for their agitations. They are indigenous bakers, they pay tax to the government, they provide employment and carry out all their businesses within the state. The outside bakers will just come into the state, especially from Abuja, drop their bread, collect their money and go. No payment of revenue to the state, no payment to the local association. This has been affecting their sales and they are the ones generating revenue for the state government by paying tax.
Corroborating the member’s submissions, Mr Bamidele Gabriel, Chairman of Kogi branch of AMBCN, said that the influx of all manner of bread products into the state had led to the closure of 70 bakeries, a development that had rendered over 1,200 bakers jobless.
Your Excellency, we all know you stand with your people and defend them against external forces. This is visible with your stand against crimes and criminals and your applauded strategy against COVID-19 menace. Will you allow the job loss experienced by indigenous bakers go on without doing anything?
The timing of the levy is obviously inappropriate but it is a policy your government must consider to salvage the economy of the state.
Your Excellency, as a former civil servant yourself, you know it is almost impossible for a Permanent Secretary to issue such memo without directive. No civil servant to try that, talk less a high ranking and experienced one. There are missing links here and these links will be missed if decisions are taken hastily.
While those promoting the ‘levy embarrassment’ are keen to see you sanction culpable official(s), kindly adopt the ‘pause-proceed-with-caution’ strategy is dealing with the issue on ground. You survived the onslaught against your person during the peak of COVID-19 spread, you will survive this as well.
Wishing you all the best, Your Excellency.
Abraham B. Oladimeji
Abuja.
