The organised labour in Nigeria has rejected the 6% stamp duty on tenancy and lease agreement in Nigeria.
Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress Rivers State, Beatrice Itubo who described the decision as harsh, in an interview with our reporter said Labour may be forced to go to the street in protest of the decision if Federal Government does not reseen the move.
” As you know, most of the workers are tenant. And these are the people that will go and sign the tenancy agreement, and then you want to put more burden on them. They begin to pay monies that are not even there. We are saying that it is not in the best interest of Nigerians, even the stamp duty is not in the best interest of Nigerians” she stated.
The chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress Rivers State, Beatrice Itubo further said that very soon, Nigerians will be asked to pay for the water and electricity they supply to themselves. She advised the government to think of social services that will benefit the citizen.
” Instead of the government to think of social services that it will render to it’s citizen, they are thinking of ways that they will continue to make the citizens suffer. Though here we are very resilient people and our endurance capacity is large. But then, they should not take the Nigerian workers and the populace for granted” she concludes.
Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress Rivers State, revealed that here in Rivers State, they are just waiting for any directives that will be given to them by the National Secretariat NLC, they will comply fully.
Similarly, the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria,TUC have also described the new policy on stamp duty on tenancy as insensitive and ill timed.
The Deputy National President of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria Chika Onuegbu is calling for the immediate suspension of the new policy on tenancy and lease agreement. He said this is not the time for Federal Government to say that tenant should pay 1to 6% in line with the law as stamp duties and also not the time to mandate landlord to enforce it.
The Deputy National President of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria Chika Onuegbu also revealed that a statistics by jury of statistics shows that about 43% of respondents have lost their job and more than half of these respondents are unable to take care of their families. Stating that this is not the right time to impose additional burden on Nigerians.
Deputy National President of Nigeria Trade Union Congress of Nigeria further appealed to the Federal Government to listen to the appeal by the Nigeria Labour Congress, Trade Union Congress and the Civil Societies in Nigeria and suspend the enforcement of that aspect of the law for now. Concluding that after this Covid, and when things normalises, then that can be considered.
