The Senate on Wednesday constituted a committee headed by the Minority Leader, Senator Abba Moro (PDP, Benue South) to meet with the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) today, to address the contentious issues associated with the tax reform bills which have generated various concerns across the country.
The Deputy Senate President, Barau I. Jibrin (APC, Kano North), who presided over plenary said that the Senate panel and the AGF would meet today (Thursday) in Abuja.
Senator Barau said all sides would be given the opportunity to ventilate their feelings after which the meeting would arrive at a rational conclusion.
Apart from Senator Moro who is the chairman, other members of the committee who would interface with the AGF today are: the Senate Chief Whip, Tahir Monguno (APC, Borno North), Muhammadu Aliero (PDP, Kebbi Central), and Seriake Dickson (PDP, Bayelsa West).
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Others are: Titus Zam (APC, Benue North West), Abdullahi Yahaya (PDP Kebbi North), Adeola Olamilekan (APC, Ogun West), Sani Musa (APC, Niger East) and Adetokunbo Abiru (APC, Lagos East).
The Senate had passed the tax bills for second reading last week, and referred it to its committee on finance for further legislative action, after receiving briefings from the Chairman, Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, Chairman Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Zacchaeus Adedeji; and the Director-General, Budget Office, Tanimu Yakubu.
However, the Senate yesterday asked the finance committee led by Senator Musa not to organise a public hearing or continue with the legislative process on the bills pending the outcome of the meeting with the AGF.
Barau, who presided over the session, said, “Before the introduction of these bills, we know we have been faced with several problems and insecurity that we have been trying to solve.
“The president has been trying and we are also working with him to solve issues about our economy, which is in line with global economic problems.
“We also agreed that we shouldn’t allow anything else to aggravate our country’s problems. It is on this note that it has been agreed by the executive and also by us that there should be a forum that will sit with the Attorney General of the Federation so that we can sort out all these problems in the interest of this nation.
“It is, therefore, proposed that by tomorrow (today) there will be a meeting with the committee that we have set up here and the leadership to sit with the Attorney General of the Federation to look at those issues and resolve them.
“It’s on this note that the committee on finance that the bills had been referred to, should put on hold further action on it – public hearing and other issues until we resolve these issues. All sides will be given the opportunity and we shall resolve the issues before anything is allowed to go”, Barau said.
DSP justifies parley with AGF
Speaking further, Senator Barau explained that the essence of having the parley with the AGF was to resolve the issue of tax reform bills and ensure that the country remains united afterwards.
“The Senate is composed of men and women of wisdom, of pedigree that this country has entrusted to legislate for them for the peace and tranquillity and the development of this country.
“The Senate of the Federal Republic, as known by everyone and indeed other Senates in the entire world, are known to be the stabilisers of every country.
“When there are difficulties and disagreements, the Senate of this country comes in with solutions through dialogue and consensus at all times to solve such problems, and the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has been doing that since 1999.
“Because of this, we decided to put politics, ethnicity, and regionalism aside to sit among ourselves and find the way forward with respect to the issues surrounding the tax reform bills.
“It is on this note that we extended our view to the executive arm of government and it was agreed that there should be a forum to sit down to look at the areas that are creating disagreements to resolve them so that the entire country will remain united – united in our effort to solve our problems”, he said.
Bone of contention
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had on October 3, 2024, transmitted to the National Assembly, four tax reform bills, in a letter read by the Senate President Godswill Akpabio, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajuddeen, during separate plenaries of the two chambers.
Tinubu said the bills would bolster Nigeria’s fiscal institutions, adding that they were in line with his government’s broader development objectives for the country.
But this ignited stiff opposition as Northern governors, Northern Elders Forum, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), some federal lawmakers from the North and other critical stakeholders rejected the bills, saying they were not in the collective interest of Nigerians.
Last week, the Senate was thrown into a rowdy session over the bills, when Tinubu’s economic team members arrived the red chambers to brief the senators.
‘New c’ttee an aberration’
A senator who does not want his name mentioned because of the sensitivity of the matter described the formation of a new committee to scrutinise the tax reform bills as an aberration.
He said it was “alien in the history of the Senate, not known in law and legislative procedures, and therefore, null and void.”
According to the senator: “Considering that there are contentious issues in the Senate, the right thing is to withdraw the bill in its entirety, work on all the grey areas and bring it back later as a fresh bill.
“It cannot be a legislative and executive bill at the same time. You cannot bring someone from outside to work alongside lawmakers in order to fix the anomalies. It doesn’t work that way. I don’t think it speaks well of the president to be desperate about this.
“He should respect the rules and just withdraw the bill, work on it and accommodate the opinion of various stakeholders, including governors and by extension the National Economic Council (NEC).
“The concerns raised cannot be addressed during public hearing but through wide consultations to get the buy-in of Nigerians through various representatives.
“The outcome of any meeting between the AGF and the new committee will have no place in the eye of law,” he said.
The four bills
The proposed bills are: the Nigeria Tax Bill 2024, which aims to establish a comprehensive fiscal framework for tax regulation, the Tax Administration Bill, which seeks to provide a clear and concise legal structure for managing taxes in Nigeria to reduce disputes and enhance efficiency.
The third is the Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Bill which is intended to repeal the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Act and create the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), while the fourth is the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill which proposes the creation of a tax tribunal and a tax ombudsman to address tax-related matters.
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