Former Senate Leader, Mohammed Ali Ndume, has said his insistence on the withdrawal of the Tax Reform Bills forwarded to the Senate was to pave way for wider consultations and necessary adjustments.
He dismissed insinuations that northern Nigeria was parasitic, noting that all parts of Nigeria needed one another to survive and thrive.
The federal lawmaker, who stated this in Abuja yesterday, said: “I’m still insisting that the Tax Reforms Bills be withdrawn for more consultations and by-in of critical stakeholders like state, local government and private sectors.
“Those who think that the current tax reforms is only against Northern interest are naive. As the law is against all the low and middle income Nigerians.”
The senator also pointed out the wrong timing of the bill noting that the current economic hardship visited upon Nigerians would only worsen if the bill sails through in its current form.
Ndume, who was only recently removed as Senate Chief Whip for his outspokenness on national issues especially as they affect the down trodden called for prudence in the management of public resources.
He said: “The FIRS should concentrate on expanding the tax net and collecting more. Also, accountability and transparency should be increased.”
Ndume also called on the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to beam its searchlight on commercial banks to ensure that banks which declare huge profits every year should pay more taxes.
The bills include a proposal to establish the Joint Revenue Board, the Tax Appeal Tribunal, and the Office of the Tax Ombudsman, all part of President Bola Tinubu’s comprehensive tax reform package.
Ndume, however, explained his concerns about the bills, citing issues such as wrong timing, the question of derivation, Value Added Tax, and the lack of consensus or buy-in from Nigerians.
He said the impression that northerners were fighting against reforms was erroneous.
Ndume said: “Yes, reform. But even with reforms, you have to prioritise, time it correctly, and ensure the buy-in of Nigerians because this is a democracy. It is the government of the people, for the people, and by the people.
“First in Nigeria, what we need to do is reform the governance . Our personnel and overhead expenditure for 2024 is about 50 to 60 per cent of the budget itself.
“We are here in November, and 20 per cent of the budget has not been implemented. But if you check the recurrent expenditure, it has already been exhausted.
“So, that means over 15 to 20 trillion naira is going into personnel, debt servicing, and recurrent expenditure. We should reform the government, not only the Executive – we need to reform the government holistically.
“The North was, is and will never be a parasite or dependent on any region or even the country. We are assets not liability to Nigeria.”
