*Says high fees unbearable
By; BAYO AKAMO, Ibadan
The Executive Secretary, Nigerian Publishers Association (NPA) Mr Emmanuel Abimbola on Wednesday, called for the reduction of fees charges on book review for publishers by the South West states government
Mr Abimbola while speaking at a media parley in Ibadan, declared that the high fees on book review is presently threatening the job of book publishers in South West
He said there is the need for the SW governors to look into the issue and ensure reduction in the fees charged on book review for publishers as doing so will in turn reduce cost of book in market which has become burden to most Nigerian parents.
Mr Abimbola pointed out that the fees charged on book review by government agencies in the SW states is becoming unbearable, saying an official in one of the SW states once said the fees charged for book review was a means of generating revenue rather than seeing education as a social services
“We don’t really have much problem with government of other regions in the country, because some of them only charge flat rate for the book review which we publishers are ready to cope”, he said.
The NPA Secretary added, “We are calling on government of states in the Southwest to stop the exorbitant fee, it is becoming too much, a situation whereby we are asked to pay N10,000 or N12,000 per book title, by the time you calculated it, it will be going to N2 million to N3 million.
“There should be book review and it should be occasionally done every three years, but publishers should be not be charge too much.The period for book review should be three years for junior secondary schools, three year for senior secondary schools and six years for primary schools.”
Mr Abimbola while describing piracy as a menace urged journalists and other stakeholders to held in making the South West governments see the reasons play to reduce the fees to the barest minimum.
