Former Chief Whip and Senator representing Borno South, Ali Ndume, has again restated his strong reservations about the controversial Tax Reform Bills. Ndume, in a statement issued at the weekend, described as naive those who perceived the opposition against the proposed legislation as a Northern agenda against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The former Senate Leader, who noted that the middle class is at the receiving end of the economic policies of the present administration, submitted that they would be more pauperised.
“The North was, is, and will never be a parasite or dependent on any region or even the country. We are assets, not liabilities, to Nigeria. Those who think that the current tax reforms are only against Northern interests are naive. As it is, the law is against all low- and middle-income Nigerians.”
The lawmaker declared that the tax reform bills were coming at the wrong time and might compound the economic hardship being experienced by Nigerians.
“I’m still insisting that the Tax Reform Bills be withdrawn for more consultations and buy-in of critical stakeholders like state, local government, and private sectors.”
He advised that the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) should expand its tax net, just as he called for a greater demonstration of accountability.
“The FIRS should concentrate on expanding the tax net and collecting more. Also, accountability and transparency should be increased,” he stated.
Ndume also called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to beam its searchlight on commercial banks to ensure that banks which declare huge profits every year should pay more taxes.
Ndume had criticised the timing of the bills, arguing that the focus should be on governance reforms before tax reforms. According to him, “Yes, reform. But even with reforms, you have to prioritise, time it correctly, and ensure the buy-in of Nigerians because this is a democracy. It is the government of the people, for the people, and by the people.
“First in Nigeria, what we need to do is reform the government. Our personnel and overhead expenditure for 2024 is about 50 to 60 per cent of the budget itself. We are here in November, and 20 per cent of the budget has not been implemented. But if you check the recurrent expenditure, it has already been exhausted.
“So, that means over 15 to 20 trillion naira is going into personnel, debt servicing, and recurrent expenditure. We should reform the government, not only the Executive – we need to reform the government holistically.”
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