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To reduce future debt servicing bill, the Federal Government got the Central Bank of Nigeria to crash interest payable on Treasury Bills, then raised Value Added Tax from five per cent, to 7.5, per cent, to raise its revenue profile.
But strangely, the same cash-starved Federal Government is shaving duties on imported cars from 35, to five, per cent, with the outlandish explanation that this will lead to a reduction in cost of transport, and positively reflect on cost of food.
Also, the Federal Government is thinking of selling off non-oil assets to fund the 2021 Budget. Funds from “Ancestor” Sani Abacha are thinning out as his family want the courts to unfreeze foreign bank accounts traced to him.
By Mercy Obojeghren
Asaba, Jan. 5, 2021 A notable farmer in Delta and former state Commissioner for Lands and Survey, Mr Raymos Guana has called for value addition to agricultural products in the country.
Guana told newsmen on Tuesday, in Asaba, that “value addition is the only way to go in deriving maximum benefits from the agricultural sector.
“We sell too many of our agricultural products without adding value and these come back as processed goods like cocoa,” he said.
According to him, almost all of our agricultural products were qualified for value addition, and the Federal Government would do well by identifying states and local government councils with capacity for various agricultural products, to provide them with required support to operate optimally.