A northern group, Arewa Think Tank (ATT) has thrown its weight behind the latest position of Nasarawa State governor, Engr Abdullahi Sule, supporting the proposed tax reform bills by President Bola Tinubu currently before the National Assembly.
In a statement signed by its convener, Muhammad Alhaji Yakubu, ATT described Governor Sule’s shift of position against the bill as a welcome development.
Yakubu said, the forces against Tinubu’s tax reform bills are not only fighting Tinubu but the fight is about liberating the North from the shackles of a few elites, adding that it is an additional reason for the group to support Governor Sule’s position “which originally is our position too.
“The North must make progress in this 21st century; the North can no longer stay behind.
“We agree 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 said it received the position of the governor as a welcome development especially as it came in the wake of continuous stakeholders’ engagements 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 all of 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 arguments 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 their drive to enlighten Nigerians on the objectives of the Tinubu tax reform.”
The Arewa group reiterated 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, among others, seek to exempt the teeming population of 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 bills will leverage all sub-national governments in the country with the capacity to create more jobs and wealth.
“Arewa Think Tank has been calling and will continue to call on political and traditional leaders in the North to support the passage of the tax reform bills to counter the political mischief that has misled the people of the region against the Tinubu administration.
“We have said several times that the North in particular will 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 are now supporting the reform bills on tax.”
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