Former Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka, on Saturday said the Federal Government does not have a grasp of how technology start-ups make money.
Mr Chidoka, who is a member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, was speaking at The Platform, a televised event hosted by the Senior Pastor of Covenant Nation, Poju Oyemade and which seeks to spark conversations that can aid national development.
“What is the average age of our cabinet,” Mr. Chidoka said. “Our cabinet does not reflect Nigeria. They cannot understand Paystack, they cannot understand Flutterwave. They cannot understand Kobo360.
“They don’t know how to tax them. The tax authorities are taxing their revenues, because they think that all the money received by Kobo360 is revenue. No, it is money they are receiving as an aggregator.
“So we need young people like you to be the Chairman of the FIRS. That’s what we need. We need people who understand.
“We can’t help them. Mr. President cannot understand it. The APC government does not understand it. They are too old to understand it. What they understand is borrowing money from the Central Bank.”
Mr. Chidoka explained that the relatively new crop of technology innovators are part of a new Nigeria he described as ‘Naija’.
“We need to unlock Naija,” he said. “It is not the responsibility of the structuralists. They are deceiving us, to make us keep looking at that day when we will change our constitution and El-Dorado will come. No, they are planning how they will take over in that new El-Dorado. “
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