We laud President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s approval of the zero percent Import Duty and VAT exemptions on essential food items to ease hardship and hunger in Nigeria.
The policy which takes effect from August 15 2024, leaves nobody in doubt as to the extent President Bola Tinubu is prepared to go in mitigating the high cost of food prices in the Nigerian markets, by making essential commodities more affordable for the citizens.
We are indeed quite elated to note that, despite his dogged and aggressive pursuit of fundamental economic reforms and restructuring in efforts to pave the way for a sustainably prosperous socioeconomic development, the President has continued to lace his economic policies and actions with human face and the milk of kindness.
It is in the light of the above, that the TDF views the plethora of federal government’s interventions and palliatives, including the sacrificial concession to sell the country’s crude oil to local refineries in naira, as an overwhelming show of consideration and sensitivity to the plight of Nigerians, and a presidential determination to bring an end to the suffering of the people.
We therefore posit that the consistent display of responsive and responsible actions by the President in attending to the challenges of governance since 29th May 2023 till date, makes it unnecessary for any individual or group to unwarrantedly resort to civil disobedience or mass protests, like it was recently witnessed, as a means to pressure the President on national issues.
It is to the credit of the various interventions and deft management of the economy by this administration, that Nigeria recorded a 19 months drop in inflation from 34.19 to 33.3% in July 2024, that national minimum wage was increased by over 100 %, that over N50 billion grant was made available to Nigerian students as loans, that another N50 billion was paid to CREDICORP to enhance consumers access to credit, including the current anticipation of cheaper petroleum product through the sale of crude oil to Dangote Refinery in local currency was achieved. These strides represents a significant fraction in the quantum of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s achievements since he came to office as President.
We call on Nigerians to welcome the remarkable approval of the zero percent Import Duty and VAT policy by the President, as a selfless and strategic move to reduce food prices in the country, and they should desist from the unpatriotic act of hoarding and profiteering mercantile that often drives food prices beyond the reach of the ordinary citizens.
We urge the Nigeria Customs Service and all other stakeholders to play by the rules and adhere strictly to the President’s directives on the implementation of the policy. The aspect of the zero percent Import Duty Policy that promotes Backward Integration Program (BIP) among importers must not be subverted.
We must bear in mind that it was the magnanimity and commitment of the President to his personal principle of putting the people first above every other considerations, that has made the federal government to incur the huge lose of N188 billion expected from the suspended Custom Duty and VAT, in other to get the policy underway, for the benefit of the people of Nigeria.
Signed
Danjuma Muhammad
Chairman
Wale Adedayo
Secretary
