The Potiskum Cattle Market in Yobe State got into a big problem on Thursday. The sellers there were very upset about the local government council wanting more tax money from them.
This caused a big mess, and it stopped people from buying and selling animals when it was the busiest time at the market.
The leader of the cattle sellers group, Alhaji Hassan Alkali, talked to reporters about what happened.
He said the trouble started when the Potiskum Local Government’s team for collecting taxes said they wanted more money.
Before, the sellers paid N1,500 per truck every week, but now they were asked to pay N10,000.
Alhaji Hassan Alkali said, “We didn’t agree with this. We had a meeting with the local government, and we told them we could only pay N3,500. But they said no and insisted on N7,000. So, we decided to leave the market and go to other places like Nangere and Dagauda, where the taxes are lower.”
He also mentioned that every Thursday, around 70 trucks loaded with cows left the market to go to different parts of the country.
He warned that if the issue wasn’t solved quickly, it would badly affect the economy of Potiskum, especially the cattle market, which has a long history of being one of the biggest in West Africa.
The Secretary of the Potiskum Local Government Council, Idris Modu Bah, responded to the situation.
He said the decision to increase the tax wasn’t meant to cause trouble. “This decision was made by the local government. We had a meeting with the sellers, and even the Security Adviser to the Governor was there. We agreed that they would pay N7,000, but they wanted to pay less,” he explained.
Yobe State is known for producing a lot of livestock, and the Potiskum Cattle Market is famous for being one of the biggest in West Africa.
