… Lawmakers shifting grounds — House deputy spokesman
By Paul Effiong, Abuja
Former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar, has urged the National Assembly to be transparent in the proposed public hearing on President Bola Tinubu’s tax reform bills.
The bills are: Nigeria Tax Bill 2024, Tax Administration Bill, Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Bill and Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill.
Atiku, who made the call yesterday in a post on his official X (formerly Twitter), however, did not take a stand on the bills but stated
“I have followed the intense public discourse on the Tax Reform Bills with keen interest”.
According to him, “Nigerians are united in their call for a fiscal system that promotes justice, fairness, and equity. They are loud and clear that the fiscal system we seek to promote must not exacerbate the uneven development of the federating units by enhancing the status of a few states while unduly penalising others”.
He, therefore, called on the Senate and the House of Representatives to adhere to the rules that provide for public hearings with a view to conducting a transparent public hearing.
Besides, “I call for objectivity and transparency in the conduct of the public hearing being organised by our representatives in the National Assembly. As a concerned stakeholder, I firmly believe that transparency and objectivity are essential for promoting accountability, good governance, and public trust in policy-making.
“The public hearing process must facilitate open and inclusive participation by all stakeholders, including Civil Society Organizations, traditional institutions, politicians, public officials, and subject matter experts”.
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidate in the 2023 presidential election also called on the federal lawmakers to revisit and make public the resolutions of the National Economic Council, a key stakeholder and an important organ of the state with the constitutional power to advise the President concerning the economic affairs of the Federation.
AljazirahNigeria recalls that the four tax reform bills passed second reading at the Senate last Thursday and were referred to the Senate Committee on Finance, chaired by Niger East Senator Sani Musa, for further legislative action, including holding a public hearing.
Meanwhile, President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, has directed the committee to involve the National Economic Council, Nigerian Governors’ Forum and Civil Society Organisations in the public hearing.
The bills have been criticised as anti-north by governors in the region, maintaining that they favour some parts of the country against other parts.
The national assembly is expected to will make a final decision on the bills at the Committee of the Whole where the clauses of the bills will be debated and considered.
In another development Deputy Spokesman for the House of Representatives, Honourable Philip Agbese (APC-Benue), has said that the house is set to commence debate on the four tax reforms bills initiated by President Bola Tinubu.
Agbese, told journalists in Abuja at the weekend that members of the house had taken time to read through the bills.
The bills seek to provide fiscal framework as well as clear and concise legal frameworks for all taxes in the country and reduce disputes in tax administration.
According to Agbese, Nigerians will remain grateful to the Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, Dr Zacchaeus Adedeji, for the reforms.
He explained that the bills, presently before the chambers, intended to stimulate the country’s fiscal policy.
“Nigerians will appreciate very soon because when these bills are passed and the Federal Government has more money to spend, critical infrastructure will be developed, jobs will be created and, to a great extent, poverty will be reduced.
“We hope to debate these bills on Tuesday and we expect robust deliberations that will ultimately lead to the passage of the bills.
“Most of our colleagues have read the bills and as a result, they are now shifting grounds. Those initially opposed to the bills are now advocating for their speedy consideration and passage.
“When we converge next week, more supporters will have been won over, but I want to add that this is not only about lawmakers.
“These bills are about Nigerians, from the top company executive to the farmer in a rural village. I say this because public policy affects everyone”, he said.
“If passed into law, these bills will rejig the economy and ensure rapid development of critical infrastructure”, he said.
The deputy spokesman called on Nigerians to rally around the tax bills, adding that as lawmakers, the interest of the country surpassed individual or sectional consideration.
He commended Tinubu for championing a new direction of tax administration in the country, saying that Nigeria was going toward progressive taxation.
“If the tax bills are well implemented, we will have a new tax regime that takes away the burden from poor Nigerians and small companies; it is a new thinking that will do us good”, he said.
The lawmaker also commended the role played by the Chairman of FIRS for initiating the bills.
He particularly lauded the FIRS boss for thinking creatively and championing reforms that would improve the nation’s revenue through effective tax administration.
The lawmaker said that FIRS, with Adedeji’s stewardship, had been surpassing its revenue target.
According to him, FIRS collected a record N12.374 trillion in 2023, which was 10.7 per cent higher than its target of N10.7 trillion.
“Nigerians will appreciate this man very soon because when these bills are passed and the Federal Government has more money to spend, critical infrastructure will be developed, jobs will be created and, to a great extent, poverty will be reduced”.
He said that FIRS set a revenue target of N19.41 trillion for 2024 and that as of the end of September, it had already collected N18.5 trillion which is so commendable.
The Nigeria Governors’ Forum, comprising all the 36 state governors, had kick against the bills and called for their withdrawal from the parliament.
