Oyo State Governor Seyi Makibde has said he was not against the Tax Reforms Bill before the National Assembly. Still, Makinde said, the federal government needed to consult widely to achieve meaningful reform.
The governor stated this during a media chat on the Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State (BCOS), which was also transmitted to several radio stations across the state.
The governor was among those who briefed the media on the National Economic Council’s (NEC’s) position on the Bill, after which the public criticised him for opposing it.
In respect of his position on the Tax Reforms Bill, he said Nigerians should learn to focus on the message rather than the messenger.
“At the level of the National Economic Council (NEC), we asked the chairman of the Presidential Task Force a question on the whereabouts of the Bill and he said that it was already at the National Assembly.
“I said if that was the case, why are you just coming here for us to debate and give you the approval as prayed? It amounted to putting the cart before the horse.
“It was an agreement reached unanimously at the NEC meeting; withdraw this Bill from the National Assembly, let us have a wider consultation.
“If people have reservations here and there, it is national, and you can seek alignment. In addition, when you align, it may be in the original form, or you may have to tweak it to accommodate whatever the stakeholders say.
“I was asked to be part of the people that would brief the press, and my bit was to explain our decision on why the Bill should be withdrawn so that consultation could happen with stakeholders.
“But some people just focused on the messenger as opposed to focusing on the message,” Makinde said.
