As many people continue to express shock at the decision of the Kogi State Government to impose levy on every loaf of bread in the state, it has said it did so to protect indigenous bakers.
Its Commissioner for Information and Communications, Kingsley Fanwo, said the Yahaya Bello administration felt the bakers needed to be saved from those “who bring bread to the state without paying any form of levy”.
Fanwo said in a statement on Friday titled, ‘The Facts About The Bakery Levies’:
“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.
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“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 smooth relationships and factors aiding their production as bread consumers have nothing to fear.”
