FROM IKHILI EBALU, BENIN CITY
Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, Benin Zone said yesterday that the Tax Reform Bill is detrimental to the educational wellbeing of the people and
urged parents and students to reject it.
Briefing newsmen in Benin, Zonal Coordinator of ASUU, Professor Monday Igbafen urged Nigerians, particularly parents, guardians and students to be wary of the new tax bill, stressing that it is inimical to the education of the people because of its dangers to the continued existence of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, TETFund.
Igbafen said Nigeria remains one of the worst countries with abysmally low annual budgetary allocation to education.
The zonal cordinator said as against the 26 percent budgetary benchmark to education prescribed by the United Nations, Nigeria has continued to oscillate between five and seven percent with President Bola Tinubu’s government retaining seven percent allocation in its 2025 budget.
Igbafen, who stated that government has not hidden its hatred for the people through the formulation, enactment, enforcement and implementation of anti-people policies and wicked laws, said “as a union, we are scandalised with the recent attempt to foist on us, a Tax Reform Bill whose specific provision is detrimental to the educational wellbeing of the people. “
He said ASUU is alarmed by Section 59 (3) of the Nigeria Tax Bill (NTB) 2024 which states that only 50 percent of the Development Levy would be made available to TETFund in 2025, while NITDA, NISENI and NELFUND would share the remaining percentage.
Igbafen noted that the consequences of this section is that TETFund will receive 66 percent in 2027, 2028 and 2029 years of assessment and zero percent thereafter, especially from 2030.
“As a union of intellectuals, we vehemently reject this tax reform bill, especially for its attempt to erode the relevance of TETFund to infrastructural development, postgraduate training and research capacity building in public tertiary institutions.
“Our union is not against government carrying out reforms, but we want reforms that will improve the university system.
“If TETFUND dies, our educational system is under serious danger. Winding up TETFUND is akin to winding up public universities.”
Igbafen called on the federal government to review the Tax Reform Bill, saying government is using tax review to kill a performing institution like TETFUND . He noted that it has delivered on its mandate and its interventions are visible in public universities and institutions.
