Tax Reform: Northern Govs Not Fighting Tinubu, Says Gov Sule

Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule has chided those bent on creating enemity between President Bola Tinubu and Northern state governors over tax reform bills.

He said the northern governors who were instrumental to the emergence of the president to power would not turned around to fight him.

Governor Sule stated this when he hosted a coalition of denominations under the umbrella of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) on a ‘Thank-you’ visit at the Government House in Lafia.

He said what the northern governors advocated for in the reform is the need for more consultations regarding the passage of the tax reform bill currently before the National Assembly, especially regarding to the Value Added Tax (VAT) aspect.
The Nasarawa State governor noted that some vested interests are exploiting the opportunity to create mischief in the polity insinuating that his colleagues were fighting the president.

According to him, those who fought against the coming of the president were the same people now claiming to love him more than those who stood for him and fought to bring him into office.

“For some people making noise and saying the Northern governors are fighting the President, nobody is fighting the president. How could you fight a President who has made you look good? This is the truth. All we are saying is that some aspects of it, we need to look into it,” he said.

Sule said on the contrary, northern governors appreciate President Tinubu for making governance easier and more beneficial for them.

“I am happy that you are following up on the tax reforms because you called for more sensitisation. That is all we ask for. That is all the grammar that you hear back and forth. It is not that any governor has anything personal against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. We love our President.

“It is because of the President that today, all the projects we are executing, I am not borrowing one naira. All the work that you see going on, I did not borrow one naira. I can not, therefore, turn around and fight the President, who has helped me to look good,” he said.

He noted that there are hidden issues about the tax bills which needed to be explained for better understanding.

“Just like I have never been a teacher, I have never been a legislature. Because of that, we called for the withdrawal of the bills to look at it again. They said it’s a wrong language. You can actually make amendments to the bills without necessarily withdrawing it. I said that is what I am looking for. I am not looking for any trouble,” he stated.

On the aspect of VAT, Governor Sule said he knows a lot more than most of those arguing in favour of the tax reforms, considering his background from the organised private sector.

“The aspect of VAT I understand more than most of them. I didn’t even know how VAT was being utilised. I only knew how VAT was generated. As a CEO of some of the companies, we collected by invoicing customers at the time VAT was five percent, collecting it from the customers and remitting to the federal internal revenue service. That was my work. Who was using it, how it was distributed, I didn’t even know until I became a Governor. That was when I knew that we could collect VAT, and it would help the state towards capital projects.

“When I talk about VAT, I talk with authority because I know what it is. I know how it is generated. I know how much it is. Today, it’s VAT that is making every state shine. Because the amount of VAT at 7.5 percent is what is making every state comfortable.

“Nasarawa State, since they started this, we have not received less than N4billion from VAT alone monthly. We are rightly apprehensive that all these projects we have, and now they are saying they will remove VAT from FAAC, I had to raise my hand because I have sworn by the Quran to defend the people. I can’t keep quiet,” he stated.

He appreciated the visit by the CAN Chairman, Very Reverend Dr. Sunday Emma, and his delegation over the appeal to both the federal and state governments for more sensitisation on the tax reforms.

“I love the part when you called for continuous sensitisation on the bills. For me, they do the sensitisation, if they remove that language about VAT, I will be the advocate of the tax reforms. But the VAT aspect, all things around the VAT are going to be difficult for people who don’t have jobs, especially in our own part of the country.

“What is the IGR of Nasarawa State. Have you ever thought about it? Those are the difficult things we are talking about,” the govenor said.

Earlier, Dr. Emma conveyed the request of the Christian community in the state to both the federal and state governments to create avenues for awareness on the tenets of the bills.

“Many Nigerians are yet to come to terms with the provisions of the reforms. It is only proper that intense sensitisation be made in order to carry everyone along,” he said.