FG launches crackdown on highway extortion to reduce food costs
Prof. Kailani Muhammad, the Chairman, Board of Trustees (BoT), Harmony Corps of Nigeria, says the corps has gotten the Federal Government’s mandate to flush out touts from the nation’s highways.
Muhammad said that the move was check the collection of illegal taxes and levies on the highways, thus
promoting cheap food items in the country.
He disclosed this in Abuja on Thursday at the Food Security Summit themed “Tracking the Transport Challenges Against Economic Development in Nigeria”.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the summit was organised by the Harmony Corps of Nigeria in collaboration with the Nigeria Association of Agricultural Products Dealers (NAAPD).
The BOT chairman said that the corps was working with other security agencies to clear the touts on the nation’s highways.
“We have thugs, criminals, crooks, touts on our roads, collecting taxes, levies.
“All these taxes and levies are always put on goods that are trotting the whole country on our highways, making food items to be costly.
“For example, If there are touts at about 10 checkpoints, all collecting money dubiously, that money will be added to the products. It is too bad.
“That is why we want to clear them. We are sounding a very serious warning.
We will do everything possible because we are being mandated by the government to make sure that we clear all these touts so that we can have cheap food in the country,” he said.
Muhammad said that the main purpose of the summit was to partner and share ideas with relevant stakeholders in order to come up with the strategies that would tackle transport challenges on Nigeria’s highways.
“Our operations will cover from Abuja to Lokoja to Southwest, South East, South-south. From Abuja to Kaduna, Zaria, Kano, Maiduguri, and all over the country.
“We are already identifying all the checkpoints where these dubious people are operating. We are going to bring out the blueprint as soon as possible.
“We are also establishing a control room to make sure that we track all the trucks that are leaving one state or the other to their destination,” he said.
He said that the corps would make sure that the trucks were properly monitored for enhancement of their movement so that they can deliver these goods properly, on time, and with no cost.
“We can not do it alone. We work with the civilian JTF, police, army, the DSS and other security agencies. We partner with them to achieve the mandate.”
In her remarks, Elizabeth Omini, Founder/Harmony Corps’ General, said that the corps also signed a Deed of Agreement with the Nigeria Association of Agricultural Products Dealers (NAAPD).
Omini said that the agreement was to implement and execute the mandate to sensitise and clear all illegal roadblocks and revenue collections.
According to her, the implementation of this task force by the Harmony Corps of Nigeria (HCN) will yield numerous benefits for our nation.
She listed the benefits to include increased revenue generation for the government through legitimate taxation and reduced leakages.
“Reduction in food prices due to the elimination of illegal roadblocks and multiple taxation, which will lead to increased access to affordable food for Nigerians.
“Improved economic development through enhanced business environment and increased investor confidence.
“Enhanced safety and security on our roads, reducing the risk of accidents, robberies and kidnappings,” he said.
The corps’ general called for stakeholders’ synergy in order to achieve the task.
“Together, we will make a difference and ensure food security, promote economic development, and create a better future for our nation,” she said.
Also speaking, The BoT Chairman of NAAPD, Chief Charles Orji, said that multiple taxations were responsible for food price hike in the country.
“Point by point, they keep on collecting money, beating drivers, hitting them, stealing from them. When will this thing stop? It will stop now,” Orji said.
According to him, the Federal Government, through the assistance of the Ministry of Agriculture, selected NAAPD to be the team to fight the cost of multiple taxation on agricultural products in the country.
He said that the truck drivers should insist that they would pay their levies at the point of loading and offloading of agricultural products, and not by mounting roadblocks on the highways.
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