The Coalition of Northern Group has kicked against the de-funding of TETFund, NASENI and NITDA as okayed on Thursday in Abuja by the Nigerian Governors’ Forum. It said they were critical institutions that play pivotal roles in advancing education, innovation and technical development of the country.
The CNG at a press conference in Bauchi yesterday also rejected taxing family wealth or inheritance, as it said it unjustifiably burdens families, negates religious tradition and contradicts cultural values.
It added, “With soaring food inflation now at about alarming 40% which has made millions of people food insecure, we not only reject any scintilla of thought that proposes an increase in VAT but proposed a reduction from 7.5% to 3.%.”
The press conference, led by the coalition national coordinator, Comrade Jalilu Aliyu Charanchi, strongly warned against any attempt at an increase in the Value Added Tax, given the prevailing harsh economic conditions making life miserable for Nigerians.
Charanchi explained however that it was time the federal government should encourage and support Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), rather than suffocating them with unnecessary taxes and exploitation.
He said, “The coalition further rejected the proposed centralisation of tax collection which would stop the Nigeria Customs Service from collecting excise duties and import VAT as well as make the new Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) the sole collector of Royalties from the upstream oil sector”.
Comrade Charanchi further stated that the purported 13% of the taxes said to be paid for consultancy services in the name of reform is similarly unacceptable, because it prioritizes personal gain of a select few who feed fart on the Nigerian commonwealth over the collective good of the people.
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