Chairman of Cattle Dealers Association in Gombe state, Alhaji Yahuza Yusuf, said on Wednesday that resuscitating the age-long tradition of transportation of cattle by rail, would shield them from multiple taxation and other illegal levies.
He told newsmen in Gombe that his members were always being exploited through multiple taxation and illegal levies while transporting their animals by road from Gombe to the Southern part of the country.
According to him, whenever a truck is loaded with cows, they pay between N10, 000 and N15, 000 on each road block before getting to their destination, either Lagos or Port Harcourt.
“Each of us spends a total of at least N180, 000 to N200, 000, per trip, which is a huge amount, before getting to our destination.
“We pay tax in our states and on the roads at different check-points; I think this is unfair and inappropriate,’’ he said.
He said in 2016, the transportation of cattle by rail commenced from Gombe to Port-Harcourt, but lamented that they had only on trip.
Yusuf said his members were eager to see to the full take-off of the rail transportation arrangement, and therefore pleaded with the authorities concerned to expedite action on the matter.
He said that whenever the train service became consistent in the country, cattle dealers in Adamawa and Taraba states would patronize the Gombe Railway station as there were no rail services in those states.
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