Tax Reforms: Arewa Think Tank backs Governor Sule

From Noah Ebije, Kaduna

Arewa Think Tank (ATT) has thrown its weight behind the latest position of the Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State on the President Bola Tinubu’s Tax Reform Bills currently before the National Assembly.

Weighing in on the raging debate of the proposed fundamental reforms of the country’s tax system in astatement, the Convener of ATT, Muhammad Alhaji Yakubu, described Governor Sule’s shift from his earlier position against the bill as a good development.

“We have discovered that the forces against Tinubu tax reform bills are not only fighting Tinubu, the fight is about liberating the North from the shackle hold of the few elite, so it is additional reason for us to support Governor Sule’s position which has been position too.

“The North must make progress in this 21st century. The North can no longer stay behind. So the few elites that don’t want us to make progress, the majority must be victorious in this regard,” Yakubu said.

Giving further explanation, he said: “We agreed completely with the views expressed by the Nasarawa State governor, Abdullahi Sule on a national television programme, that the initial opposition from the northern state governors against the tax reform was propelled by a lack of adequate clarity and understanding of some of the contents of the bills.

“ATT received this as a welcome development especially as it came in the wake of continuous stakeholder engagement by the chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reform, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele.

“We therefore commend Governor Abdullahi Sule, who is also the chairman of the North Central Governors Forum, for his remarkable show of maturity, understanding and statesmanship in shifting ground from his earlier stance against the bills, by openly expressing support for their passage.

“We want to use this opportunity to call on all his colleagues in the Northern Governors Forum to join him in encouraging the National Assembly to pass the four tax reform bills without further delay.

“For us at Arewa Think Tank, we have insisted that the tax bills were designed by President Tinubu to usher in a progressive national tax system, that will meet the economic and political aspirations of Nigerians in the emerging global economy.

“To this end, we want to salute the courage displayed by the President for encouraging the true spirit of democracy and freedom of expression among Nigerians in the heat of discussions around the tax reform amid the emerging argument for and against the bills.

“Also, we want to appreciate the continuous efforts, sacrifices and commitment exhibited by both the Chairman of the Presidential Committee and the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Zach Adedeji, in the drive to enlighten Nigerians on the objectives of the Tinubu tax reform.

Initiative.

“We want to restate once more that there is no aspect of the tax reform bills that is prejudicial to the economic interest of Northern Nigeria or any part of the country as argued by some mischief makers.

“We know that the bills, amongst others, seek to exempt the teeming masses from the payment of tax until they can attain a significant level of economic productivity.

“We also know that when passed into law, the reform bills will leverage all sub-national governments in the country with the capacity to create more jobs and wealth.”

He reiterated that the North in particular would become more innovative from the implementation of the tax reform and as such the region should not waste time in accepting the reality of the reform, especially now that many governors of the region had started showing support the reform bills.