From Abdullahi Alhassan, Kaduna
Cooking in thousands of homes across Kaduna State may become more expensive in the coming days after charcoal and firewood dealers shut down operations indefinitely, accusing federal revenue agents and two private firms of imposing illegal levies that have doubled transport costs.
The dealers, under the National Association of Charcoal Producers, Dealers and Afforestation of Nigeria, NAPDDA, said they were forced to halt supply after revenue collectors linked to the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Seedling Multipliers Company and a firm identified as Haulage began collecting cash from members two days ago without notice, receipts, or POS machines.
“We are not arguing. We are pleading and begging the state government to intervene and come to the rescue of our people,” NAPDDA National Deputy President, Alhaji Abdulsalam Abubakar Rijana, told journalists at a press conference in Kaduna on Monday.
Levies double overnight
According to Rijana, the new charges have pushed operating costs beyond what transporters can bear. He listed the increases: levy for a Golf car rose from N6,000 to about N12,000, buses from N7,000-N8,000 to N15,000, and pickups from N12,000 to about N30,000.
Other dealers said truck drivers are now being asked to pay between N10,000 and N40,000 at multiple checkpoints, all in cash and with handwritten receipts.
“This violates the Nigerian Constitution and the principle of joint taxation,” Rijana said. He added that members with 20 to 30 years at designated checkpoints were ordered to vacate to prevent monitoring of the collections.
Kaduna State Secretary of the union, Adamu Muhammed, cited Section 21 of the Kaduna State Revenue Law 2022/2024 Revised, which he said expressly prohibits physical cash collection.
“We want to know, and we want to call government to intervene on this. Is the government giving them this permission to use this method of collecting money?” Muhammed asked.
“We were caught off guard”
Kaduna State Chairman of the association, Alhaji Dauda Hussaini, said the group operating as “National Freight Special Tax” arrived without consulting the union, unlike the state government’s usual practice. He alleged that the collectors stopped vehicles on highways and detained traders and forestry staff, creating tension across the 23 LGAs.
To prevent a breakdown of law and order, the union directed all 50,000 registered members to stop supplying charcoal and firewood to Kaduna until the authenticity of the collectors is verified and a stakeholders’ meeting is held.
“We have a working arrangement with the Kaduna State Government and have enjoyed relative peace under the current administration, but the new development threatens that stability,” Hussaini said.
Households to bear the brunt
Traders warned that the shutdown will hit poor households hardest at a time when cooking gas remains out of reach for many.
Yahaya Halidu, a charcoal trader, said with an estimated 300 to 500 trucks entering Kaduna daily, the money being collected “is not reaching the Kaduna State Government.” He said the cost to cook a meal has jumped from N100 to between N500 and N700.
“The poor who risk their lives sourcing charcoal in the bush should not be made to fund illegal collections that benefit individuals rather than the state treasury,” Halidu said. He added that with elections approaching, the crisis “is an attempt to spoil the government’s goodwill.”
Charcoal transporter Tahir Ahmad said insecurity in the bush already makes the job risky, and the new levies are pushing drivers out of the trade.
“We work hard just to make ends meet, only to find that the amount demanded from you might leave you with no profit at all by the time you unload and return,” Ahmad said.
Union leaders stressed that the trade employs women, youths, widows and the elderly in almost every household. “If we continue like that, in the end, there are people going around to become thieves, to become different criminal acts,” Muhammed warned.
Government responds
When contacted, the Kaduna State Internal Revenue Service, KADIRS, said the state government has banned cash revenue collection and that the ban remains in force. KADIRS Public Relations Officer, Mallam Jamila Zakari, did not confirm whether the two companies had state approval.
The association has formally written to KADIRS, the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Finance and security agencies, asking for urgent intervention to harmonize collection and verify the mandate of the new collectors.
“We want to know if this person who came claiming he was sent actually has legitimate authority, or if this is just an arrangement he came up with on his own that is causing disruption,” Hussaini said.
For now, depots across Kaduna remain closed. Dealers say they will remain calm but will not resume until the state government meets with them to establish a single, lawful revenue system.
“We are law-abiding citizens,” Rijana said. “Any scarcity faced by households will not be the fault of dealers but of the two companies that came from nowhere to collect revenue.”