By Nathaniel Zacchaeus, Abuja
The Senate Committee on Finance said yesterday that it will commence a two-day public hearing on the tax reform bills next week on Monday.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Sani Musa, disclosed this to journalists after his panel members had a closed session on the matter.
The Committee had earlier met with the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) officers regarding the tax bills.
After the closed session, Sani said, “We’ve all agreed that we are starting the public hearing on Monday, February 24, and continuing on Tuesday, the 25th.”
The Senator said, “We intend to take on two of the bills each day. The SenateSenate Committee on Finance is going to invite the general public,, particularly some organisations,, to a two-day public hearing on the tax reform bills.
“One of them is the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Fund Bill, the Nigerian Revenue Services Bill, the Nigerian Tax Administration Bill, and the Nigerian Tax Bills.
“Mr. President submitted the four bills last year, 2024, and as it is today, both chambers of the National Assembly have done the second reading, and we are ready for the public hearing.
“These bills are aimed at reforming the tax administration, collection, and operations of taxes in Nigeria.
“The primary purpose of this is to see how the government will generate more revenues so that we’ll be able to put our country on the pedestal of advanced economies where infrastructure, education, agricultural sectors, and virtually every sector that revolves around the ecosystem of the economy will be adequately taken care of with enough funds.
“We want to align ourselves with Mr President. Looking at the bills, we have studied it very well as a committee.
“We have had an engagement with many stakeholders before arriving at where we are today, and the public hearing is going to go on smoothly.
“Whatever the grey areas are, Mr President has said it, times without number, that he won’t interfere.
“It is our duty as legislators to do what is needed for the good of this country. We are all representatives of different tribes, religions, and geographic histories, but we are Nigerians.
“We will work towards giving Nigerians laws that will put us on track economically, and by the grace of God, we will succeed.”
Musa said his committee had invited many agency heads, such as the Minister of Finance, who is also the Coordinating Minister of Economy, and the Minister of Trade and Investment.
He said the Attorney General of the Federation, the Minister of Petroleum, the Chairman of Federal Inland Revenue Services, and the Statistician General of Nigeria, who heads the National Bureau of Statistics, had also been invited.
He said, “We need their submissions because we need to know what is happening in the economy generally, not just what we read or hear in the news. We need to understand what is happening practically out there.
“We are more advanced than any other economy in Africa, and we should be able to do things that will give us that stride.
“What we have done, even before the public hearing, was that every member you have seen here went through the tax bills, and we are also communicating with our constituents.
“We did this so that at the end of the day, we will give Nigerians the desired legislation to take care of our revenue and tax administration in the country.”
During the committee session with the MOFI executives, Musa said the agency in charge of the federal government assets and portfolios has a significant role in the entire issue.
He said, “We commend the initiative the institution is taking to change the dynamics of the economy generally, knowing that MOFI is the custodian of the assets and portfolios of the federal government of Nigeria.
“We are fully convinced that they are doing very well, and there are areas that we felt they should improve. We have highlighted those areas, and they have promised to do them.
“Our engagement with them will continue, and after that, we went into a closed session with distinguished members of the finance committee, and it was almost anonymous whatever we have discussed.”
