From Charity Nwakaudu, Abuja
The Coalition of Northern Groups has called for the immediate suspension of the proposed Tax Reforms Bill in the country.
National Coordinator of the group, Comrade Jamilu Aliyu Charanchi, made the call in Abuja during a world press briefing.
He insisted that the tax bill would impoverish the North, leaving northern states at a disadvantage.
“On the whole, the group urgently demands the immediate suspension of these Tax Bills, so as to allow wider engagement and collect the input of critical stakeholders and the Nigerian citizens in general towards implementing a more equitable, transparent and sustainable tax administration reform in our country,” he stressed.
“While we commend the courageous position of the Northern Governors Forum (NGF), the National Economic Council (NEC), the northern council of traditional rulers and some members of the National Assembly who stood firm against this ill-fated policy to strangulate Nigerians, we equally urge other lawmakers to summon the courage and take bold decisions against this unpopular policy,” Charanchi added.
The group, stressing the need for decentralisation of imports, added that Lagos State should not be the only point for imports but that other land borders such as those in Kwara, Borno, Kebbi, and Katsina, among others, should be utilised.
Charanchi further called on the government to complete, rehabilitate, and operationalise the Baro, Lokoja, Makurdi, Warri, Calabar, and Onitsha ports to enable other states to generate revenue, as opposed to the current system that centralises everything in Lagos.
The group also affirmed that all inland dry ports in Kano, Aba, Ibadan, Jos, Katsina, Maiduguri, and Kaduna must be quickly operationalised in the interests of equity, fairness, and inclusion.