Good governance: Why National Assembly has no teeth to bite –Senator Hanga

• Gives conditions for North to  support Tinubu in 2027

• Says new tax reform bill skewed against some states

 

By Omoniyi Salaudeen

Senator Rufai Hanga currently represents Kano Central Senatorial District in the National Assembly. 

In this interview, he examined the state of the nation’s economy and politics, noting that President Bola Tinubu is more popular in the North than his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari.

Some stakeholders are routing for a return to a parliamentary system of government. Are you one of the advocates?

I am not one of the advocates of a parliamentary system. We want to confuse ourselves more. We turned to the presidential system from the parliamentary system we operated in the 1960s. Now, they want us to move back to a parliamentary system. The only thing wrong with the presidential system is the way we operate it. The problem is in us, not in the system. That is my belief.

Concerns have been raised about the cost of governance. Is a parliamentary not cheaper to run than a presidential system?

That may be in other democracies, but not in Nigeria. It all depends on us; we are not disciplined enough to manage the cost of governance. If we are disciplined people like Americans, we won’t be spending so much money running the government. The problem is much with the people, not the system.

The present administration of President Tinubu is perceived to be too aggressive in its tax drive. There is so much worry about the multiplicity of taxation. What is your take on this?

My belief is that if the government can block some leakages in the system, there will be no need for a multiplicity of taxation. Currently, there is a multiplicity of taxation in the country.

According to the presidency, the Tax Reform Bill before the National Assembly seeks to harmonise these taxes to enhance efficiency of collection. Don’t you think so?

As an accountant and a student of taxation, I have thoroughly gone through the bill; it will even make things worse. What I have seen will not help the country. It is skewed in favour of one side of the country. What they are bringing forward will not help some poor states. States like Kano, Lagos, Port Harcourt, Kaduna, Oyo, Ogun, may not feel it. But states like Jigawa, Kebbi, and others will not be okay. They will be in deep shit if the new reform bill is operated. The sharing formula will be against Osun, Jigawa, Ekiti and some other states. It will be a disadvantage to them in terms of sharing formula. I have gone through it thoroughly; I have thought over it, and as an accountant, I believe that it might not be well with some states. It may be okay for some, but not for all. We need to be fair to everybody. There is a serious paradigm shift in the system because the headquarters of most companies are in Lagos, Kano, and Port Harcourt. All the rest states in the federation will be in problem.

What about the argument that it will ginger the states to be more productive? 

Where are the incentives? Its operation can only work if we make facilities available in all states to stimulate them for productivity. The bill as presented to the National Assembly is skewed and one-sided.    

Isn’t there a better way of generating revenue than a tax regime that imposes more burden on the already overburdened populace?

There are better ways to generate money. Let’s develop our mineral resources. We are not tapping our mineral resources; we are not developing the sector. Let us also encourage farming. If we provide the necessary infrastructure and expertise, we can make money from agriculture. Some countries depend solely on farming and they are rich. Some countries depend mainly on mineral resources and they are rich. Some countries depend on other things other than oil and they are rich. We are far behind because we have no priority. The only way we can make things better is to prioritize our needs and tap into our potential.

You must have been following the IMF’s position on the reform initiatives of the present administration. On one hand, they commended the government for sustaining subsidy removal. And on the other hand, they said the reform would take 15 years to bring the desired result to the country. What is your perspective on the issues?

That is the mistake the president is making, believing in the IMF opinion on subsidy removal and floating of the naira. Will he be there in 15 years? If he continues like this till 2027, he will have some problems. If we can reform our mineral resources and focus on agriculture, things will change for the better. There will be an economic boom and nobody will complain any longer.  

But all the presidential candidates in the last general elections campaigned that they would remove fuel subsidy?

And now they are fighting him. The only candidate who did not support subsidy removal in his campaign was Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso. He said he didn’t believe in the removal of subsidy and he has been vindicated. If things continue like this till 2027, people will understand him better; 90 per cent of the people of this country are now suffering. If you don’t give succour, they will never believe whatever you say. We are not an elitist society. If we are, maybe people may understand better. Even as a politician, I don’t believe in the the IMF’s idea of subsidy removal.

Paradoxically, the government is making more money, but the people are getting poorer.

The government is making more money, but where is the money? We are still grappling with the electricity problem. If they pump the money into electricity, our industries will thrive. Now, artisans and small-scale business owners are crying because of electricity. Industries are dying. Yet, it is getting worse by the day.

Where is the country headed under this reform policy?

We are heading for oblivion. 

Is there the possibility of a retreat from this policy?

I don’t see the possibility of a retreat because the government is stubborn. There is nothing anybody can do to make them change. Except the president makes a U-turn, there may be a change of government in 2027. If he can make a U-turn a year before the election, people may support him.  

Why is the government so fixated on subsidy removal and the floating of the naira since the policy is not helping the economy?

The question should be directed at the Finance Minister and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. They are the people in charge of the economy.

As lawmakers, part of your duties is to call them to order if they are not on the right track. Isn’t it?

The National Assembly has no teeth to bite.

Why?

Because of the leadership.

The general expectation at the inauguration of the current National Assembly was that there would be vibrancy and robust debate of issues because of different shades of political parties coming into the chambers. How have things turned the other way?

Many of the political parties are in the minority. For instance, I am the only Senator for my party (NNPP) in the National Assembly now. We are two, but the other person decamped to APC.

What makes it difficult for all these minorities to form a formidable force to checkmate the government?

There is no cohesion among them. For instance, the PDP has three irreconcilable factions. Even in my state (Kano), PDP is almost dead. In the last presidential election, they got only 15,000 votes. It has been routed out in Kano and most of the states in the Northwest. The only solution is for Asiwaju to retrace his steps on some of the policies, it is sure that he will come back in 2027. He has good policies; the only unpopular policy is this fuel subsidy and the naira floatation.

As a grassroots politician, you must be conversant with the sentiments of the common people. What is their perception of this government vis-à-vis the hardship of the economy?

I have a very close connection with them, I listen to them. They are happier with this government than Buhari’s government. Asiwaju has a lot of followers which was why he got a lot of votes in the last election. Those followers are still intact for him. The only thing is that they are lamenting these two policies. They are certainly happier with this government than Buhari’s.  For instance, during Buhari’s regime, the N5,000 Trader Monie they disbursed to the poor never reached the people. But Asiwaju is giving out N50, 000 and it is reaching the people. During Buhari’s time, they may claim that they gave it out to 100 people, but hardly five people got it. Now, the majority of the people are getting it. And they are satisfied with it. If something good happens to you, your neighbour who is close to you will also be happy. These little things are coming and people are happy with it. That is why Asiwaju is more popular in the North now than Buhari.

Almost all opposition parties are in crisis. How far has your party gone in resolving its internal crisis?

The crisis was a problem with the initial working committee and the Chairman of the Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees has no place in the body of our constitution. It was the Chairman of the BoT, who was making the trouble, saying he was the owner of the party because he formed the party. And the court told him that a party is nobody’s property. That was how he lost. Now, the crisis is over. We have changed our logo, we have changed our signs and INEC has accepted it. We are now intact; there is no faction. Whoever is talking about faction is a joker because we went to court and the court gave us the mandate. 

Is there any likelihood of a merger arrangement?

We are talking; it will certainly happen.

There was insinuation sometime ago that Governor Abba Yusuf wanted to resist the overbearing influence of Kwankwaso…

(Cuts in) Some people thought that the governor was naïve, they wanted to push him to resist the leaders and leadership. But unfortunately, they did not succeed. And he made a broadcast that he was still with the leaders and the leadership was with him. Both at the state and national level, the party is intact.