Yobe herdsmen to pay cattle tax

By Nabilu Balarabe

The Yobe Government has introduced cattle tax as part of efforts to boost Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) in the state.

Alhaji Baba Wali, the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), stated this at a sensitisation exercise on the reintroduction of livestock tax and mitigation of farmer/pastoral conflict.

Wali said the decision to introduce the cattle tax followed Executive Order No. 3, recently signed by Governor Mai Mala-Buni.

“At a security meeting held by the governor and critical stakeholders sometime in March, the National Chairman of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association (MACBAN) proposed the introduction of cattle tax in the state.

“The proposal was unanimously agreed by all stakeholders because apart from increasing the state revenue base, the process of collecting the taxes will also tackle the menace of cattle rustling.

“If a herdsman pays tax for a total of 100 cows in 2021, and in 2022 he is seen with 200 cows, he will definitely have some explanation to make,” Wali said.

He said that a committee headed by the state’s Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr Mairo Amshi, would soon announce the tax fee to be charged per cattle, mode of payment and collection.

According to him, receipts would be kept with emirate councils across the state for issuance.

In her remarks, Amshi said the introduction of the cattle tax was part of efforts to add value to livestock production considering its potential in the social and economic development of the state.

Amshi said that traditional rulers were massively carried along in the programme in view of the authority and respect they command in their localities.

The commissioner charged farmers and pastoralists to coexist peacefully, adding that no meaningful development could be achieved in the atmosphere of rancour.

NAN