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From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The Southern caucus of the House of Representatives has expressed support for the four tax reform bills.
Chairman of the caucus, Nicholas Mutu, at a press briefing in Abuja, said southern lawmakers have met over the bills and were in support.
The bills, which are intended to reform tax administration have been trailed by controversies, with northern governors and leaders kicking against them.
The tax bills are The Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria (Establishment) Bill, 2024, The Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill, 2024, The Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, 2024 -and the Nigeria Tax Bill, 2024.
Also, deliberations on the bills, in the Green chamber, have been put on hold by the House leadership to enable more consultations by members.
Regardless, he noted that the caucus was open to dialogue on the proposed legislation.
“The southern caucus of the House of Representatives has met. We welcome the bills and we are open to dialogue.”
The lawmaker, who noted that the proposed legislations are people-oriented and good for the country, said the parliament at the appropriate time would capture the missing links in the bills.
According to him, “we are open to dialogue. And at the right time, we will capture the people’s elements that are missing in the bill. The bill is good for Nigeria and it is a people oriented bill. And we are happy to have the bill.”
Chairman of the Bayelsa State caucus, Fred Agbedi, who also spoke at the briefing noted that there was no division in the House over the bills.
“We are in consonance with our constituents and the states that we represent. So, we are ready to work to ensure that we give a better tax law to Nigerians. That is what we are interested in. There is nothing like the Southern or Northern divide.”
Chairman, House Committee on Defence, Babajimi Benson, said there was nothing unusual about the controversies trailing the tax bills. He recalled that similar controversies had trailed the 13 percent derivation fund for oil-producing states, as well as the host community fund in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
“At every point in time, there’s no bill that has a national outlook that there won’t be interest colliding one way or the other. Our job is to sit down with our brothers, find the middle course and move ahead, “ he stated.
