A state-wide food crisis looms in Benue as one of the largest foodstuff dealers’ association in Nigeria has shut down sales.
The Federated Foodstuff Dealers Association in Zaki-Biam yam market in Benue state accounts for 30% national food supply.
The association has refused to call off the two weeks’ old strike it embarked on to protest alleged arbitrary taxes by the Benue State Board of Internal Revenue.
The union, at a peace meeting with officials of the revenue service and the state government, appealed to the state government to intervene by harmonizing taxes collected on all farm produce instead of charging different rates.
The Commissioner for Trade, Commerce and Investment, Tersoo Kpelai, who chaired the meeting, said that a bill to harmonize all taxes was being proposed to the state assembly.
He appealed to the union to show understanding pending when the bill comes into effect in 2017.
Other market associations were also part of the meeting.