Presidency: “We Are Still Deliberating” On Tax And Import Duties Suspension For Food Items (Details)

Presidency: “We Are Still Deliberating” On Tax And Import Duties Suspension For Food Items (Details)

The Presidency has cleared the air on the suspension of tax, import duties, and tariffs for importing some food items through land and sea borders.

Ireporteronline  reported that the foods include maize, husked brown rice, wheat, and cowpeas.

The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, shared the memo via his X handle on Monday evening before deleting it.

However, Onanuga said the Tinubu administration is considering suspending tariffs on imports of rice and other food commodities.

Speaking with The Gazette on phone, Onanuga said the memo was a regrettable error even though it has been circulating across government departments.

He said the policy was not imminent as of Monday evening, stressing the Federal Government is still deliberating on it.

He said, “The policy was mistakenly circulated. We are still deliberating internally from the agric ministry to other agencies on how best to proceed with the policy.”

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Government has published the budget performance report for the first quarter of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, covering June to September 2023.

According to SaharaReporters, since President Tinubu assumed office, no budget performance reports have been published, raising concerns over transparency and accountability.

Ireporteronline learnt that this omission marks the first time since 2015 that an administration has failed to release these reports, which are crucial for providing insight into government spending and resource allocation.

By law, the federal government must release quarterly reports on expenditure and revenue generation, typically available on the Budget Office’s website every three months to ensure transparency and accountability.

SaharaReporters pointed out that the Tinubu administration’s failure to release these reports violates the Fiscal Responsibility Act.