Kaduna, May 8, 2019(NAN)The National Association of Nigerian Traders (NANTS) on Wednesday cautioned its members nationwide to refrain from unnecessary increase in the prices of commodities as a result of the increase in the national minimum wage.
NANTS’ President, Mr Ken Ukaoha, made the appeal at a training workshop for its members on Tracking the Commitments of Political Actors to Farmers Manifesto and Traders’ Charter of Demands.
According to him, the workshop is aimed at educating the traders on ways of effectively tracking the commitment of political actors and parties made to farmers and traders during the campaigns.
“The increase in goods is unnecessary, immoral, undefendable, unjustifiable and perhaps wicked.
“Therefore every trader must avoid the temptation of being lured into such selfish act as a means of enrichment,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) report that the president, represented by the North West Coordinator of the association, James Sako, said
every trader must realize that hiking prices on one commodity automatically raises price of others.
“Therefore, once a trader raises the price of his or her commodity, others will also jack up theirs in the same manner.
“And this negative circle will only be multiplying poverty to everyone and dealing a dirty blow on the overall economy which has futher implications on everyone.”
On the training, Ukaoha said it was to empower the association members to track the performance of elected public officials so as to make them accountable to the public.
” We have therefore gathered this day to be trained and equipped with the capacity to track these commitment so that our efforts and resources committed to this project would not be in vain,” he said.
The NANTS President said for the next four years, “we shall steadily be monitoring and tracking the performance of our elected representatives at various levels of governance to ensure that the promises they made with their signature of endorsement to our documents are kept.”
He added that the target was to make progress by the new administration in terms of credible and predictable trade and agriculture policy for the country.
“We must seek to pursue the harmonization of taxes and charges to end the menace of multiple taxation which is disincentive to economy growth.
“Also, we shall continue to watch and monitor until all encumbrances and impediments to the growth of agribusiness are completely chased out of the way.
” As actors we must be integrated in the mainstream of governance at all levels so we can passionately make inputs to policies and projects that speak to our livelihoods.
“In this regard, the membership of farmers in the Board of agriculture-related Agencies and parastatals under Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, the revitalization of Agric Extension delivery services, the strengthening of the Anchor Borrowers Scheme and the Nigeria Incentive Risk Based Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL).
Ukaoha urged government at all level to find lasting solution to the worsening insecurity in the country.
Also the leader Women Traders Association, Kaduna State, Hajiya Khadija Yusufa said the training will help both the famers and traders in keeping public officials on their toes.
Yusufa tasked women to engage themselves in helping their families to be self dependant.
NAN report that no fewer than 200 famers and traders from different organization participated in the training workshop. (NAN)
