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Nigeria: Kano Market Unions Pocket Cattle Tax. Market unions in Kano state impose a ₦500 weekly levy on individual cattle but end up remitting nothing to the state government.
Investigations have revealed that market unions in Kano charge a ₦500 weekly tax for every cattle transported into any market but only issue a receipt for a ₦200 ticket per cattle, while completely cutting out the state government.
The unions have been pocketing 60% of the cattle tax and giving the remaining 40% to the local government.
This signals a high level of corruption and a lack of transparency and accountability regarding taxes and levies.
A typical example is the Wudil International Cattle Market which attracts 5,000 heads of cattle weekly, generating a total amount of ₦2.5 million each week, ₦10 million per month and ₦120 million per year.
Judging by the receipt issued to traders, Wudil Local Government Area receives ₦200 per cattle each week, ₦1 million for 5,000 heads of cattle per week, ₦4 million each month and ₦48 million each year.
The market union, however, gets ₦72 million out of the ₦120 million generated yearly from cattle traders but there is no receipt for this.
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Since the state government is not involved in this cattle tax, the Wudil Local Government Area and the cattle market union are the ones pocketing the entire revenue.
According to the director of Budget and Planning Abdulmuminu Ajumawa, who deals with revenue-related issues in Kano state, the state government currently doesn’t tax cattle herders in the state.
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Speaking on the situation of the Wudil Cattle Market, the head of the market, Kabiru Umar Faruk said the market doesn’t receive any support from the state government, so the funds generated from the cattle tax is what sustains the market.
He however denied that the market union pockets the funds.
The same situation is going on in other markets in Kano, and they all have the same excuse.
Back in 2020, Dambatta Cattle Market, alongside Wudil, received a slice of ₦300 million allocation by the Kano State government for the building of infrastructure in cattle markets across the state.
This was revealed by the state project coordinator, Ibrahim Garba Muhammad during the proposal opening for design and supervision consultancy for cattle markets on October 29, 2020.
Additionally in 2023, the commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Danjuma Mahmud, mentioned that the government was investing ₦600 million in cattle markets across the state.
Despite all the colossal investments, the state government is not interested in generating cattle tax.
According to market unions, Danbatta Cattle Market plays host to 700 heads of cattle each week, generating a total of ₦350,000 every week and N18.2 million every year.
Of this total, only ₦140,000 a week (₦7.38 million each year) is remitted to the local government, leaving ₦10.92 million with the market union.
The situation is the same at Bichi Cattle Market where traders pay ₦500 for 700 individual cattle every week, and only ₦200 receipt is issued for each cattle brought into the market.
According to the head of Bichi Cattle Market, Kabir Abubakar Kabiru, he never embezzled the money, instead, a portion of the tax goes to the local government while the rest is used to maintain the market.
Responding on behalf of the state government, Kano State Commissioner for Information, Baba Halilu Dantiye, said no law mandates the collection of cattle tax in the state.
He said the collection of cattle tax is not the state government’s business but local government and market unions.
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