Bread Tax Is Evil, Perm Sec Facing Disciplinary Action – Kogi Governor

An unnamed permanent secretary is under probe for being behind the purported law placing tax on bread in Kogi state.

 The governor of the state, Yahaya Bello made this known while denying approving the controversial bread tax in the state. 

According to him, the move is evil. The governor said those behind the purported law would soon be unmasked and punished accordingly. He said: “The incident of bread tax in Kogi State is the most unfortunate infraction that any right-thinking human being would allow to fly.

“When I assumed office on January 27, 2016, I inherited a decayed civil service and I embarked on massive reform of the civil service.“Before now, the civil servants in the state don’t follow the public service rules or the financial regulations.

A similar incident happened within this period of COVID-19 where two permanent secretaries decided to take the laws into their own hands and wrote a letter to worship centres, demanding that fumigation of the worship centres be paid for despite the fact that it was a service that Kogi State rendered free of charge.

Those permanent secretaries have since been dismissed from service.“The particular incident of bread tax is being looked into as I speak, we are investigating those that are behind this. It is evil and it is unaccepted, to say the least

“I have ordered the Head of Service to issue queries to those that are responsible and they will face the law accordingly. This is a state that never locked down over COVID-19 but our economy was badly hit because all our neighbours;

10 states, including the Federal Capital Territory, locked down.“If I didn’t lock down to subject my people to hardship, why should I because of tax or hardship impose additional hardship on them by paying bread tax? If there is a way, I can even give tax holiday for some of our businesses, I will do that, not to tax bread.

“So, the Permanent Secretary concerned is facing disciplinary action and we are going to communicate to the world at the end of the day. I never ordered that and I don’t think any senior member of my cabinet will order such.”