By Nathaniel Zacchaeus, Abuja
President Bola Tinubu told the Senate to give him workable laws from the bills four months after he forwarded the proposed legislation to both chambers of the National Assembly for consideration and passage.
This came as various stakeholders in the polity threw their weights behind the hitherto contentious bills at the public hearing conducted by the Senate Committee on Finance in Abuja yesterday.
Stakeholders who initially opposed the bills, like the Arewa Think Tank led by the convener, Muhammad Alhaji Yakubu, debunked the insinuation that the northern part of the country was against the proposed laws.
The Senate Committee on Finance Chairman, Senator Sani Musa (Niger-East), disclosed Tinubu’s request for workable laws from the bills in his remarks at the public hearing.
The bills are the Nigeria Tax Bill 2024, the Nigerian Tax Administration Bill 2024, the Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Bill 2024, and the Joint Revenue Board Bill 2024.
Musa said, “I met President Bola Tinubu (GCFR) two days ago about the tax reform bills, and he told me that Mr. Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance, go and do the needful.
“Give me a law that is workable from the tax reform bills I forwarded to the Senate and the House of Representatives in October last year.
“That request by Mr President came at a very auspicious time of this public hearing on the tax reform bills, which are not meant to add burden to any section of the country or give undue advantage to any section as well.”
It will be recalled that opposition against the bills was raised by various groups last year, which made it difficult for the House of Representatives to pass it for second reading while the Senate managed to do so on November 28.
However, at the public hearing declared opened by the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, all oppositions to the bills fizzled out as stakeholders, one after the other, threw their weight behind the proposed laws.
The first to submit was the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, who said the proposed laws are not aimed at taxing poverty but prosperity.
He said, “The tax reform bills, as repeatedly explained at different fora since their introduction last year, are for modernising our archaic tax laws to improve efficiency, equity, and economic growth.”
Making a similar submission, Mele Kyari, the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), said the entire oil and gas industry is well disposed to the reform.
“The proposed tax reform bills to us in NNPCL are essential for the enhancement of the growth of the economy through a more efficient and effective tax collection mechanism.
“As the largest taxpayer in Nigeria, NNPCL has studied the reform bills and found the proposals reasonable and necessary,” he said.
Toeing a similar line in his own presentation, the Chairman of Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Mohammed Shehu, made a U-turn from his earlier stance on the bills by supporting them fully.
He said, “RMAFC supports the proposed tax reform but wants adjustments in the area of Value Added Tax (VAT) distribution to subnationals.
“We hope that the proposed reform will address the issue of endless revenue remittance reconciliation with NNPCL and others.”
The Chairman of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission, Victor Muruako, also supported the proposed reform bills, declaring that they are in tandem with the spirit and letters of the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007.
*Stakeholders, Arewa groups back proposed fiscal laws
In separate presentations, the convener of Arewa Think Thank, Muhammad Alhaji Yakubu, and the representative of the President of Supreme Council for Sharia in Nigeria, Prof Mohammed Bello Dogarawa, debunked the insinuation that the North was against the reform bills.
Specifically, the Convener of Arewa Think Tank said, “It is not true that the North is against the tax reform bills. We have seen the benefits and sensitized our people in the North on them.”
Earlier in his remarks, before declaring the public hearing open, the President of the Senate said, “The challenge before us transcends the simple act of passing new laws.”
Akpabio said, “It is about constructing a tax system that inspires confidence, promotes development, and fuels national growth.
“We cannot afford to be fragmented in our approach to revenue generation. Instead, we must unite—federal, state, and local governments, the private sector, and civil society—to create a tax system that truly works for all.”
Other critical stakeholders, such as the Executive Chairman of Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr Zacch Adedeji, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Yemi Cardoso, and the Comptroller-Generals of Nigeria Customs Service and Nigeria Immigration Service, will make their remarks at the session on Tuesday (today).
