By Abdulateeef Bamgbose, Abuja
The much contentious tax reform bills , have been passed for second reading by the Senate in plenary, yesterday.
Passage of the reform bills totalling four , for second reading by the Senate , was sequel to presentations made to that effect by the Senate Leader , Senator Opeyemi Bamidele ( APC Ekiti Central ) , in general lead debate on them .
After the lead debate presentations on the bills by the Senate Leader , many of the Senators who made contributions on the bills such as Senators Sani Musa ( APC Niger East), Seriake Dickson ( PDP Bayelsa West ) , Abba Moro ( PDP Benue South) and Senate Whip , Tahir Monguno ( APC Borno North ) , fully supported the bill .
But Senator Ali Ndume ( APC Borno South ) , kicked against the reform bills on the grounds of timing and lack of wider consultations .
The Senate at the session presided over by its President , Godswill Akpabio , accordingly passed the bills for second reading through voice votes .
The Senate, therefore, mandated its Committee on Finance , to organise Public hearings on the bills for inputs from those against the bills like the Northern Governors’ Forum , National Economic Council ,NEC , Northern Elders’ Forum, NEF, few governor’s from the South, etc and report back within six weeks .
AljazirahNigeria recalls that this tax reform bills introduced by the federal executive arm would have hit the Greek wall, going the apprehensive atmosphere released after the meeting of some notable leaders from the North , expressing disagreement and rejection about the bills, with the notion that the bills if passed into law would shortchange the North and appealed for wider consultations. Addressing the press, AljazirahNigeria recalled, after their meeting, the Northern Elders Forum, leaders and the Northern Governors’ Forum alleged that the new proposed tax reform bills before the NASS would be a disadvantage to the North and had claimed to have instructed the NASS members from the northern region to vote against the bills. In acting their scripts as patriotic northerners, Sen Abdul Ningi ( PDP- Bauchi Central ) and Sen Ali Ndume( APC -Borno South) vehemently refused the proponents of the bills( visitors from the presidency ) from making it into the Red Chamber for not being part of the business of the day and the timing of the tax reforms. But the presiding Senator, Deputy President of the Senate, who happened to be a Northerner Jubril Barau overruled them . AljazirahNigeria reports that, it caused a rowdy session, indeed, in our thinking, Order 12 of the Senate rules was breached as the Senate majority leaders ought to have listed the visit of Taiwo Oyedele, Zach Adedeji, and Czar of the Budget Office. The bills succeeding at this stage at the surprise of many Nigerians showed that President Tinubu is in charge of the Senate, the Northern Governors’ and Elders’ sentiments couldn’t fly.
…House of Reps to hold special session on Tinubu’s tax reform bills
House of Representatives has announced that it would hold a special session on Tuesday to deliberate on the tax bills
The Deputy Speaker, Ben Kalu announced this yesterday after a long closed-door session.
The House held a long closed-door session that lasted over one hour before resuming plenary.
At the resumption of plenary, the Deputy Speaker,Hon. Kalu announced that the special session would be held to determine the fate of the four bills.
“We will have a special session over the tax bill on Tuesday. This conversation is going to continue from now till Tuesday when we will invite these resource persons to be here to engage us. Thereafter, we will decide which way to go”, he said.
The four tax bills; Nigeria Tax Bill 2024, the Tax Administration Bill, the Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Bill, and the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill, are currently before the two chambers of the National Assembly.
AljazirahNigeria reports that the Senate held a similar session on Wednesday and passed the bills for a second reading on Thursday and Nigerians await just as the Deputy Speaker said, “what becomes the fate of the bills by next week”
