Barely four months after introducing the tax reform bills and sending them to the National Assembly for consideration and passage, President Bola Tinubu has asked the Senate to give him workable laws from the bills.
During the first day of the two-day public hearing on the bills, there were no dissenting voices, unlike at the outset when major controversy heralded their introduction, with the Governors’ Forum as the major opposition.
Most stakeholders at the event on Monday threw their weight behind the hitherto contentious bills at the public hearing organised by the Senate Committee on Finance.
Against expectations, the Arewa Think Tank, led by its convener, Muhammad Alhaji Yakubu, debunked the insinuation that the northern part of the country was against the proposed laws.
President Tinubu’s request for workable laws from the bills—including (i) The Nigeria Tax Bill 2024, (ii) Nigerian Tax Administration Bill 2024, (iii) Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Bill 2024, and (iv) Joint Revenue Board Bill 2024—was disclosed by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Sani Musa (Niger East), in his remarks at the public hearing.
“I met President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR) two days ago on the tax reform bills, and he told me, ‘Mr. Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance, go and do the needful.
“Give me a law that is workable from the tax reform bills I forwarded to the Senate and the House of Representatives in October last year.
“That request by Mr President came at a very auspicious time of this public hearing on the tax reform bills, which are not meant to add a burden to any section of the country or give undue advantage to any section as well,” he said.
It would be recalled that strident opposition against the bills was raised by various groups last year, making it difficult for the House of Representatives to pass them for a second reading. The Senate, however, managed to do so on November 28 last year.
However, at the public hearing declared open by the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, all opposition against the bills melted away as stakeholders, one after the other, threw their weight behind the proposed laws.
First to make a submission was the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, who stated that the proposed laws are not aimed at taxing poverty but prosperity.
“The tax reform bills, as repeatedly explained at different fora since their introduction last year, are for the modernisation of our archaic tax laws toward effecting efficiency, equity, and economic growth,” he said.
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Making a similar submission, the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, said the entire oil and gas industry is well disposed to the reform.
“The proposed tax reform bills, to us in NNPCL, are a very necessary enhancement of economic growth through a more efficient and effective tax collection mechanism.
“As the largest taxpayer in Nigeria, NNPCL has studied the reform bills and found the proposals to be reasonable and necessary,” he said.
Toeing a similar line in his own presentation, the Chairman of the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Mohammed Shehu, made a U-turn from his earlier stance on the bills by supporting them 100%.
He said: “RMAFC is in support of the proposed tax reform but wants adjustments in the area of Value Added Tax (VAT) distribution to subnationals.
“We hope that the proposed reform will address the issue of endless revenue remittance reconciliation with NNPCL and others.”
The Chairman of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC), Victor Muruako, also supported the proposed reform bills, declaring that they are in tandem with the spirit and letters of the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007.
In their separate presentations, the convener of the Arewa Think Tank, Muhammad Alhaji Yakubu, and the representative of the President of the Supreme Council for Sharia in Nigeria, Professor Mohammed Bello Dogarawa, debunked the insinuation that the North was against the reform bills.
Specifically, the convener of the Arewa Think Tank said, “It is not true that the North is against the tax reform bills. We have seen the benefits and sensitized our people in the North about them.”
Earlier in his remarks before declaring the public hearing open, the President of the Senate said: “The challenge before us transcends the simple act of passing new laws; it is about constructing a tax system that inspires confidence, promotes development, and fuels national growth. We cannot afford to be fragmented in our approach to revenue generation. Instead, we must come together—Federal, State, and Local Governments, alongside the private sector and civil society—to create a tax system that truly works for all.”
Other critical stakeholders, like the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr. Zacch Adedeji, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Yemi Cardoso, and the Comptroller-Generals of the Nigeria Customs Service and Nigeria Immigration Service, will make their remarks at the session on Tuesday.