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Tag: duty

  • Buhari approves new excise duty rates for alcoholic beverages, tobacco

    President Muhammadu Buhari has approved an amendment to the excise duty rates for alcoholic beverages and tobacco with effect from Monday, 4th June, 2018.

     A statement from the federal ministry of finance signed by Oluyinka Akintunde Special Adviser, Media and Communications to the Minister of Finance said President Buhari has also granted a grace period of 90 days (three months) to all manufacturers before the commencement of the new excise duty regime.

     Oluyinka Akintunde however said there “is no increase in excise duty of other locally excisable products.”

     The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, who made this known on Sunday in Abuja, stated that the new excise duty rates were spread over a three-year period from 2018 to 2020 in order to moderate the impact on prices of the products.

     The Minister disclosed that “the new excise duty regimes followed all-inclusive stakeholder engagements by the Tariff Technical Committee of the Federal Ministry of Finance with key industry stakeholders.”

     According to her, the upward review of the excise duty rates for alcoholic beverages and tobacco was to achieve a dual benefit of raising the government’s fiscal revenues and reducing the health hazards associated with tobacco-related diseases and alcohol abuse.

     She said, “the Tariff Technical Committee (TCC) recommended the slight adjustment in the excise duty charges after cautious considerations of the government’s Fiscal Policy Measures for 2018 and the reports of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund Technical Assistance Mission on Nigeria’s Fiscal Policy.

     “The effect of the excise duty rates adjustment on trade and investment was also assessed by the Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment and it adopted the recommendations of the TTC.”

     Adeosun added that “peer country comparisons were also carried out showing Nigeria as being behind the curve in the review of excise duty rates on alcoholic beverages and tobacco.”

     Following the President’s approval, Adeosun disclosed that the new excise duty rate on tobacco was now a combination of the existing ad-valorem base rate and specific rate while the ad-valorem rate was replaced with a specific rate for alcoholic beverages.

    The Minister added that, “for alcoholic beverages, the current ad-valorem rate will be replaced with specific rates and spread over three years to moderate the impact on prices. This will curb the discretion in the Unit Cost Analysis (UCA) for determining the ad-valorem rate and prevent revenue leakages.”

    “For Tobacco, the government will maintain the current ad-valorem rate of 20 per cent and introduce additional specific rates with the implementation to be spread over a three-year period to also reasonably reduce the impact on prices.”

    Under the newly approved excise duty rates for tobacco in addition to the 20 per cent ad-valorem rate, each stick of cigarette will attract a N1 specific rate per stick (N20 per pack of 20 sticks) in 2018, N2 specific rate per stick (N40 per pack of 20 sticks) in 2019 and N2.90k specific rate per stick (N58 per pack of 20 sticks) in 2020.

    The Minister explained that Nigeria’s cumulative specific excise duty rate for tobacco was 23.2 per cent of the price of the most sold brand, as against 38.14 per cent in Algeria, 36.52 per cent in South Africa and 30 per cent in Gambia.

    The new specific excise duty rate for alcoholic beverages cuts across Beer & Stout, Wines and Spirits for the three years 2018 to 2020.

    Under the new regime, Beer & Stout would attract N0.30k per centiliter (Cl) in 2018 and N0.35k per Cl each in 2019 and 2020.

    Wines would attract N1.25k per Cl in 2018 and N1.50k per Cl each in 2019 and 2020, while N1.50k per Cl was approved for Spirits in 2018, N1.75k per Cl in 2019 and N2.00k per Cl in 2020.

    The Minister added that the new excise duty regimes are in line with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) directive on the harmonisation of member-states’ legislations on excise duties.

    It would be recalled that the ECOWAS Council of Ministers had at its 62nd and 79th Ordinary Sessions in Abuja in May 2009 and December 2017, respectively, issued directives on the harmonisation of the ECOWAS Member States’ Legislations on Excise Duties.

    The directives seek to harmonise member-states’ legislations on excise duties of non-oil products and also stipulate the scope of application, rate of taxation, taxable event and amount.

  • ‘Nearly all importers evade duty’

    ‘Nearly all importers evade duty’

    The Comptroller-General, Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Col. Hameed Ali (Rtd) yesterday said that 99 per cent of the nation’s importers are non-compliant with the Customs’ duty and charges.

    According to him, Nigerian importers are unpatriotic to Nigeria because when they pay duty to other countries they deny Nigeria of its dues.

    Ali, who was speaking as the Chief Host at the public presentation of the book “Appraisal of Crime of Smuggling in Nigeria” in Abuja, pointed out that the belief of a typical Nigerian, is that he does not owe his country any obligation.

    “Somebody picked up two cars from Benin Republic, when he landed in Benin he paid every charges, he moved them to Niger, and paid every charges he was supposed to pay.  But those cars were destined for Nigeria. When he now came to Nigeria, he decided to take an unaccustomed route and brought those cars to Nigeria. And when we did apprehend those vehicles the question I asked him was: why are you so unpatriotic, you could pay to Benin Republic, you could pay to Niger, and then coming to your own home, you don’t want to pay? He said the duty was too high,” Ali said.

    He noted that Nigeria cannot make progress in a situation where people are not complying with the law and where all that Nigerians think is how to circumvent the law.

    He commended the author of the book, Musa Omale for not allowing his knowledge, experience and writing skills to die.

    The customs boss noted that the book has made the job of the NCS easier and enjoined all the stakeholders to buy and read it.

    He assured the author that the Nigeria Customs Service will deploy copies of the books to its libraries and commands.

    Speaking with journalists, immediate past president of Association of Nigerian License Customs Agents, Chief Ernest Elochukwu noted that book is an exposure of the dimension of smuggling and the laws that are in place to tackle it.

    He said that the fight against smuggling can also be viewed from other angles like the creation of an enabling environment that does not promote smuggling.

    He said that government can achieve enabling environment by making sensible policies in terms of what it bans and does not ban.

    In his remarks, Omale said that he was motivated to focus on smuggling in his Doctoral research to put his experience as an officer of the NCS for the past 26 years at the disposal of others and to highlight the level of damage being done by smuggling to the economy.

     

  • Boroh: It’s duty of communities, govt, oil firms to provide jobs

    Boroh: It’s duty of communities, govt, oil firms to provide jobs

    The Coordinator Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Brig.-Gen. Paul Boroh (rtd), has said it is the duty of communities, the Federal Government and oil companies to provide jobs for youths in the Niger Delta.

    A statement signed by Mr Owei Lakemfa, Head of Media PAP, quoted Gen. Boroh as speaking while addressing the chiefs, elders, women and youth groups of George Town, Okrika, Rivers State at the weekend.

    Gen. Boroh, also Special Adviser to the President on the Niger Delta, said 20 ex-militants were empowered in a cluster co-operative integrated farm by the government.

    According to him, the model farm, which was fully funded by the programme has 30 ponds, one ‘Run-off Earthen Pond,’ 5000 Bird Poultry, including Broiler and Layers, Free Range, Cropping and Processing Sections, Administration and Sales Office, 2 Feed Stores, 2 Implement Stores and one Control Room.

    The Coordinator told the beneficiaries that they have once in a life time opportunity not just to make a decent living for themselves and their families but also to employ a number of the unemployed.

    Gen. Boroh said the cluster farming would impact positively on the beneficiaries and assist them to be employers of labour.

    He said the beneficiaries were introduced to the fish smoking kiln and a multipurpose seafood processor to aid their businesses.

    According to the Coordinator, the introduction to a more effective and efficient technology of fish/seafood preservation and processing had a tremendous impact on their livelihood activities.

    He said the Amnesty Office would further empower the beneficiaries by handing over to them as a start off package, 1000 fingerlings to 2000 post fingerlings,  100 Point of Lay Birds and an additional 200 broilers, 10 Piglets  and a Crop Section: with  Cucumber, Pepper, Pumpkin and Okra.

    The presidential aide said the modern cluster farm for which the Rivers State Government has given a registration as “Okrika Agro Farmers 105 Cooperative and Investment and Credit Society Limited,” would be replicated in other parts of the region.

    Gen. Boroh also visited some individual aquaculture holdings in Okrika funded by PAP.

    Also, the George Town Traditional leader, Chief Akuro George, in his response at the meeting, thanked PAP under Boroh for extending “Federal presence” to George Town.

    George said the project has established a bond between the people and the Federal Government and called for a skills acquisition centre be established by the Amnesty Office in George Town to cater for unemployed youths.

    The traditional ruler, also a former First Vice President of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), said “the problem of the Niger Delta is a collective challenge.”

    He urged other federal, state and local government agencies to collaborate for the development of the region and the country.

    The monarch appealed for the completion of roads in the town by the Federal Government intervention agency.

    The Songhai Farms, which trained the beneficiaries and helped them established the cluster farm, said it would spend the next three months to mentor the beneficiaries.

    Its General Manager, Mr Tammy Jaja, said the model farm is based on a zero-waste technology in which the use of waste materials in one section is a critical input in another section.

    The Chairman of the beneficiaries’ cooperative society, Mr Emmanuel Promise, thanked the Federal Government for giving them the opportunity to run a business of their own.

    The Amnesty Programme said it was committed to human capacity development among youths in the Niger Delta as a deliberate step to ensure reintegrate the 30,000 ex-agitators captured under the Amnesty programme.

    The programme, which started in 2009, had sponsored beneficiaries in various skills training in the areas of education and entrepreneurship, automobile engineering, auto electrical, auto manufacturing, auto maintenance, underwater welding, aviation, agriculture, tourism & hospitality and sports, among others.

  • NLC to Customs: shelve duty collection on old vehicles

    NLC to Customs: shelve duty collection on old vehicles

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has asked the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to shelve its plan to compel vehicle end users to pay duties on such vehicles or face prosecution.

    It said the policy was unrealistic and aimed at inflicting further hardship on the citizenry.

    In a letter to the Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (rtd), dated March 7, NLC President Comrade Ayuba Wabba said while the congress supports the Customs in its efforts to carry out its responsibilities, it opposed the new policy because it  was logistically-callous and aimed at creating unimaginable chaos as well as suffering for innocent vehicle end-users.

    Wabba said it was common knowledge that duties on imported vehicles were payable at the point of entry, noting that subjecting vehicle end-users to this kind of trauma, majority of whom have no hand in the importation of their vehicles, was unfair and unacceptable.

    According to him, porous borders being claimed by the Customs was not a justification for the proposed policy action.

    It added that since the policy has received condemnation from all sectors of the economy, the Customs should devise a coherent response to deal with these challenges.

    The letter said: “We strongly hold the view that those who break the law or seek to break the law should be sanctioned to serve as a deterrent to others.

    “The need to enforce tax laws in our country is all the more necessary because of social justice and other dwindling revenue sources. Our support for the Nigerian Customs Service is, therefore, not in doubt. If anything, the Customs should be encouraged to do their work well.

    “However, we are opposed to this new policy for the afforested reasons: It is logistically-callous and will create unimaginable chaos and suffering for innocent vehicle end-users.

    “It is self-serving and will in the end enrich unscrupulous Customs personnel, who contributed in no small to the present situation through acts of commission or omission. It will amount to rewarding their complicity.

    “It is common knowledge that duties on imported vehicles are payable at the point of entry. Subjecting vehicle end-users to this kind of trauma majority of whom have no hand in the importation of their vehicles is unfair and unacceptable.”

    It added: “There is no information on the vehicles to be excluded from this exercise. This presupposes that the owner of a Morris Minor or a Peugeot 404 brought into this country in the 70’s is similarly affected.

    “Beyond this, a state of mental siege is being created by all manner of endless verification and re-certification exercises in the country. It is thus morally wrong to inflict on the citizenry this kind of discomfort.

    “In view of the aforestated reasons, we strongly advise that the Nigeria Customs Service shelve this plan. Lessons ought to have been learnt from the violent outcome of the brutal raids of Ota market and the ambushing and extorting of money from vehicle-owners on the highway at Yuletide seasons.” Porous borders, Wabba said, were no justification for proposed policy action.

    “Accordingly, in place of this unpopular policy which has received condemnation from all sectors of the economy, the Nigeria Customs Service should devise a coherent response that will deal with these challenges.

    “Such a response, we believe, should focus on capacity-building, modernisation of operations, use of technology, massive corruption in the system and inspiration/incentivisation of officers and men for them to deliver on their mandate as well as meet annual targets,” the NLC President said.

  • NECA to CBN: obey N50 stamp duty ruling

    NECA to CBN: obey N50 stamp duty ruling

    The Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) has urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to comply with the Court of Appeal’s ruling stopping the deduction of N50 stamp from deposits of N1000 and above.

    In January, last year, CBN directed banks to deduct duty from deposit of N1,000 and above into current account. Last April 21, the appeal court ordered that the deductions be stopped, because they were illegal.

    NECA Director-General Mr. Segun Oshinowo accused CBN of not complying with the ruling. He said the deduction affected corporate bodies, among others.

    “NECA and organised businesses had opposed attempts by the Nigeria Postal Service (NIPOST) to compel companies to affix N50 postal stamp on all receipts, invoices and documents evidencing transaction of N1,000 and above,” he said.

    Oshinowo said it was worrisome that CBN has refused to comply with the ruling on the matter between Kasmal International Services Ltd. and Access Ban and 23 others.

    He said: “NECA has expressed concern over the failure of the CBN to reverse its earlier directives to all Deposit Money Banks (DMB) to halt the charging of N50 per eligible transaction in accordance with the assumed provisions of the Stamp Duties Act and Federal Government Financial Regulations (2009). The CBN is, hereby, advised to do the needful without delay by directing cessation of further deductions and commence the refund of all accrued deductions in the past to their customers.

    “NECA urges the President Muhammadu Buhari administration to restrain its operatives from pursuing policies that will increase the burden on the citizenry, both corporate and individuals. It affirmed that stamp duty’s applicability is limited to purchases involving large sums like a house purchase or importation of goods as against the position of applying N50 postage stamp to all receipts given by any bank (or financial institution) in acknowledgement of services rendered in respect of electronic transfer and teller deposits.”

  • Road safety is duty of all, says Buhari

    Road safety is duty of all, says Buhari

    President Muhammadu Buhari has declared that road safety is not the exclusive preserve of the Federal Government, saying that every Nigerian should see himself or herself as active participant in the collective campaigns.

    The campaign, he said, would ensure safe motoring environment as evidenced by the Nigeria Road Safety Strategy Document (NRSS).

    The NRSS document spelt out the role that all tiers of government, including the private and public sectors as well as stakeholders could play in funding road safety activities in the country.

    “That is why this administration expediently approved the NRSS as recently endorsed by the National Economic Council (NEC) during its last sitting.

    “Let me therefore, commend the leadership of the FRSC and the entire staff for the initiatives and commitment to vigorously pursue road safety programmes for safety and security of lives and property on the road,” he said.

    President Buhari stated that the award of the Quality Management System Certification (QMS) (ISO 9001:2008) to the FRSC by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) is a further testimony to the success of the reforms which the FRSC has undertaken over the years, saying it must be sustained to further guarantee safety of all road users.

    According to the President, it was to further boost the operational success of the Corps and in line with the administration’s desire to ensure safety and security of lives and property of the citizens that the procurement of two hundred and eighty three (283) operational vehicles was commissioned.

     

    He said: “These vehicles will no doubt boost the operational capability of the FRSC and enhance the capacity of the personnel to face the challenges of enforcing traffic rules and regulations on the nation’s highways.

    “It is our hope that the fleet of vehicles would give impetus to the ongoing global campaign for road safety under the auspices of the United Nations Decade of Action For Road Safety: 2011-2020.

    “I assure the Management of the FRSC that this administration will continue to render necessary support for the success of its campaigns for safety on the nation’s roads for the enhancement of the economic activities and tourist potentials of the people.”

    President Buhari urged Nigerians to support FRSC and other law enforcement agencies in their efforts to ensure safety and security of the people.

    He however gave directive to the FRSC to initiate process that could lead to effective control of offences of driving against traffic and overloading which are rampart among drivers, thus constituting hazards to road users.

  • A call to duty

    FOR every man, food is essential. What we eat and drink helps to meet our basic needs for growth, development, control our emotions as well as satisfy our desires. In babies, the first source of their nutrients is water and breast milk.  During pregnancy, the breast responds to a complex interaction of hormones, including estrogens, progesterone, and prolactin, that mediate the completion of its development, namely lobuloalveolar maturation, in preparation of lactation and breastfeeding.

    As soon as the baby is born the alveoli are stimulated to produce and secrete milk for infants.

     Over time, the many benefits of breast milk as opposed to the infant formula have been over emphasised. The content therein is free and healthy and motherhood therefore is a call to duty for every woman.

     A number of women find it difficult to adhere to the rules of exclusive breastfeeding for so many reasons. This includes sore nipples, infant having difficulties or when the baby is not getting enough milk.  Interestingly, even though women claim they stopped breastfeeding their babies because of time, work and other health reasons, experts also found that the perception of men also affected them in making such choices. “Most women who do not breastfeed their children adequately do so because they still want to remain attractive to their men. They strongly believe that this is one of the most attractive parts of their body and would still want to look good even after motherhood,” stated Sarah Adeyemi.

    While new mothers are still grappling with their new roles and responsibilities, trying to look smart and trendy, you also find them making efforts to understand why their man needs the breast when the baby’s need is hanging in the balance. The crux of the matter here is that along with their function in feeding infants, female breasts have social and sexual characteristics.

     Scroll down memory lane and you discover the importance ascribed to the breasts. They have been featured in notable ancient and modern sculpture, art, and photography. The female breasts, therefore, figure prominently in a woman’s perception of her body image and sexual attractiveness.

     No wonder women who have the resources pay a fortune on breast augmentation or other kinds of surgery to enlarge or reduce their breast size or to reverse sagging breasts.

     To understand the issues, it is important to understand how the women feel about their breast. “The breast is one of the most important parts of the woman’s body. It sets her apart from the male and a woman without a pair of breasts is incomplete,” declares twenty-seven year old Maltida Udoh.

    Interestingly, the breast plays different roles in a woman’s life. At puberty when the girl’s life is transforming, estrogens, in conjunction with growth hormone, cause breast development. Males do not develop pronounced or well-matured breasts because their bodies produce lower levels of estrogens and higher levels of androgens, namely testosterone, which suppresses the effects of estrogens in developing breast tissue.

    Subcutaneous fat covers and envelops a network of ducts that converge to the nipple, and these tissues give the breast its size and shape. At the ends of the ducts are lobules, or clusters of alveoli, where milk is produced and stored in response to hormonal signals.

     Over the years, experts have disclosed that the breast milk elixir is the remedy that could save the lives of so many children, especially in the developing world. Current estimates backed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNICEF are that optimal breast-feeding would save 800,000 children’s lives a year in developing countries. That would amount to a 12 percent drop in child mortality, a huge gain.

     Exclusive breast-feeding for six months, as strongly recommended by the WHO, is practised by just 46 percent of women in India, 17 percent in Nigeria, and 10 percent in Yemen, according to the latest Global Nutrition Report. (In the U.S., the figure is about 22 percent, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).

    Infants who are not breast-fed are 14 times more likely to die than those who are exclusively breast-fed, according to a major metastudy just published by Acta Paediatrica, a pediatrics journal.

     Apart from children, women are also beneficiaries in the breastfeeding arrangement. A recent research reveals that new mothers can cut their risk of breast cancer by breastfeeding their babies. That is not all. The findings go on to say that the longer they continue, the lower their chances of developing the disease become.

    The findings add a new dimension to the evidence already amassed of the benefits of breastfeeding for babies, including healthier immune systems and fewer breathing difficulties.

    The research by epidemiologist Sir Richard Doll – who discovered the link between lung cancer and smoking – may now lead doctors to tell mothers that breastfeeding could protect them from the disease.

    Sir Richard’s findings follow a study which compared breast cancer rates among thousands of women and revealed conclusive evidence of a drop in the chances of getting the disease among those who breastfeed.

    A woman’s average risk of developing the cancer – which currently stands at one in 12 – decreases by four per cent for every year she breastfeeds. Data from 30 countries with a wide range of baby feeding practices were analysed to examine the relationship between breast feeding and breast cancer. “The hormones oestrogen and progesterone have been linked to tumours, and breastfeeding acts as a natural contraceptive, lowering hormone levels to the extent that a woman’s menstrual cycle is halted.”

  • Banks in Free Trade Zones get tax, duty waivers

    Banks in Free Trade Zones get tax, duty waivers

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said it would henceforth grant tax and duty waivers to banks operating in the Free Trade Zones (FTZs).

    CBN Director, Banking and Payment System, ‘Dipo Fatokun, who made this known in a circular, said the incentives will further the apex bank’s mandate for the development of banking operations in the country.

    The incentives, contained in the guidelines for banking operations in FTZ released yesterday, include freedom to move funds in and out of the zone on all eligible transactions, exemption from stamp duties on all its documents, exemption from withholding tax deductions on interest payable on deposits, dividends and royalties and exemption from corporate and capital gains taxes.

    The lenders, Fatokun said, will also be exempted from payment of duties on imports of furniture, office equipment and other facilities necessary for its operations; and any other incentives as may be approved by the CBN, from time to time.

    He said only banks or financial holding companies licensed under the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA), or licensed foreign banks, shall qualify to apply to the authority for approval to establish presence to carry on banking business in Nigeria’s FTZs.

    The CBN Director said the provisions of the Nigerian Export Processing Zone Authority (NEPZA) Act, Oil and Gas Free Trade Zone Act, BOFIA, CBN Act, and Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation  Act and all guidelines and regulations issued pursuant to these Acts shall apply to banks operating in the FTZs.

    “Without prejudice to the powers of NEPZA to grant Licenses, no enterprise shall carry on banking business in any FTZ in Nigeria without a prior approval granted to the parent bank and banking license granted to the subsidiary by the CBN. The required minimum paid-up capital to operate in FTZ of Nigeria shall be $10 million, or such other amount as the CBN may from time to time prescribe. In addition, a bank in the FTZ shall meet all the prudential requirements as may be specified from time to time by the CBN,” he said.

    Fatokun said a bank in the FTZs shall disclose to the CBN, the equity interests of its directors and key officers in any enterprise in the zones within 14 days of acquisition of such interest.

    He said a licensed bank in the FTZ may accept deposits; grant to any person, advance, loans, or credit facility, or give any financial guarantee, or incur any other liability on behalf of any person; make remittances of funds abroad or to Nigeria Customs Territory on behalf of any non-resident; undertake any other foreign exchange transaction as may be prescribed by the CBN, from time to time; and carry out any other activity that may be approved by the CBN.

    However, the CBN stopped such lenders from sourcing foreign exchange from the official foreign exchange market of the Nigeria Customs Territory; opening an account for a customer in contravention of the Know-Your-Customer (KYC) principles; undertaking any other transactions which are inimical to the interest of the FTZ; and any other activity that may be specified by the CBN or other relevant authorities, from time to time.

    Also, banks within the FTZs are required to ensure strict adherence to the provisions of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended), Terrorism (Prevention) Act, 2011 (as amended) and the Central Bank of Nigeria AML/CFT Regulations for Banks and Other Financial Institutions in Nigeria, 2013.

    The sources of funds for the lenders include deposits from non-bank customers such as Multinational Corporations, International Corporations, Non-resident or resident persons or entities, approved Enterprises in the FTZs, Regional Financial Agencies or Institutions and Euro-Money Markets; Inter-bank borrowing within the FTZs or with foreign banks; Export Proceeds; Equity Capital; and Such other sources of funds as may be approved by the CBN from time to time in consultation with the Authority.

  • Stakeholders anticipate slash in duty on books

    •13 countries for book fair

    As the Federal Government works towards removing the 50 per cent duties imposed on imported books, the Chairman of the Nigerian Book Fair Trust (NBFT), Mr Samuel Kolawole, has expressed optimism that reading materials would become cheaper in Nigeria.

    Speaking last Thursday at a briefing ahead of the 13th edition of the Nigerian International Book Fair (NIBF) which holds for five days next week at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Kolawole said the policy has made books unavailable and more expensive.

    “Tertiary books are mostly not printed in Nigeria.  When the duty is high, you are making the books less accessible because it becomes more expensive thus less people can afford to buy.  We believe the government is responding positively to this issue and we believe the problem will be solved soon.  We had a meeting with the Ministry of Finance where the issue was adddressed.  It is part of our efforts to influence policy,” he said.

    On his part, the Executive Secretary of the NBFT, Mr Abiodun Omotubi, urged stakeholders to tackle negative policies that hinder literacy.

    “The task of enhancing literacy is a daunting one which all and sundry in the country must not shy away from.  Government in every tier must see the task as a priority because literacy is a driver of economic growth and development.  Policies that will hamper the enhancement of literacy and become disincentive to investment for stakeholders in the book industry should be ignored by the government,” he said.

    For the book fair next week, Kolawole said International publishers, booksellers and printers from 13 countries within and outside Africa will join indigenous stakeholders in the book industry to participate in the fair, which he said has grown to be the biggest and most consistent in Africa.

    Kolawole said that Sweden, Pakistan and Egypt will be participating for the first time.

    Other countries are: United Kingdom, Malaysia, South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Cameroun, Botswana and Ghana.

    The Emergence of the E-Book and the Survival of Physical Book in Africa will be the focus of an international conference which will feature as part of the fair.  Dr Victoria Okojie, Registrar/CEO, Librarians’ Registration Council of Nigeria (LRCN), is to deliver the keynote address at the conference, which will be chaired by Mr Akin Olajide, former Managing Director, University Press Plc.

    Apart from book exhibition, the fair will also feature workshops for librarians, teachers, authors, as well as children’s programmes, seminars and the like and provide platform to forge business ties.

    With all the activities planned for the fair, Kolawole said the opportunities it will throw up for the development of literacy in Nigeria will be many and beneficial.

    “The annual NIBF is a platform for the players in the book industry locally and in foreign countries to network and access the latest titles in the book world.  Authors, printers and publishers of books in Nigerian market will be part of NIBF 2014.  Users of books and other instructional materials will not be left out,” he said.