Cletus Akwaya
11 February 2004
Abuja — The Nigerian Publishers Association (NPA), the umbrella body for all publishers in the country, has called on the Federal Government to immediately revive or expedite action on the planned privatisation of the country's paper mills at Jebba, Oku-Iboku and Iwopin to address the problems associated with importation of paper products.
National President of the association, Igwe Nwadilibe Iloeje, said in Abuja yesterday, that the stoppage of production by the three paper mills had left publishers with no other option than to continue to embark on importation of the product, a situation he regretted had raised the prices of books in the country.
Iloeje spoke at a meeting of the association witth the Special Adviser to the President on Manufacturing and Private sector, Alhaji Abdulkadir Ahmed. He argued that while the process of revitalising or privatising the moribund mills might take time to accomplish, government should in the interim reduce tariffs on paper, cover boards and other printing inputs like plates and chemicals.
Nwadilibe who spoke on behalf of the publishers also called for removal of the 2.5 per cent levy and the Economic Community For West African States(ECOWAS) surcharge imposed on all imported books which used to be free, arguing that the policy was contrary to the Geneva protocol on the free and unhindered flow of books across national frontiers.
He decried the activities of book pirates in the country describing them as "criminals since they reproduce books protected by copyright, pay no tax to Government on the sales, pay no royalties to authors and stifle production."
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2004 This Day. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
