Bauchi State governor, Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed yesterday asked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to listen to Nigerians who are opposed to some aspects of the Tax Reform Bills.
The governor gave the advice last night while featuring on a programme of Channels Television tagged “2024 In Review”.
He said he stood by his earlier comments on the matter, and affirmed that he could not be threatened as a governor.
The governor had, while hosting the Christian community in Bauchi during the Christmas holiday, advised Tinubu to backtrack on the tax policy reforms, alleging that it could cause anarchy.
He had also alleged that the tax reform bills were skewed in favour of only one section of the country.
Presidency fires back
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, had described Mohammed’s remarks as “inflammatory rhetoric” and “direct threats toward the federal government”.
The presidential aide, who had also alleged that the governor’s remarks did not reflect the collective views of Northern Nigeria, challenged him to focus on addressing poverty and ensuring the effective use of federal resources rather than issuing threats.
Gov insists on position
But yesterday, Bala Mohammed wondered why his “genuine interventions are seen as an affront.”
He said: “I cannot be threatened as a governor. I owe and I stand by my comments. It is meant in good fate, it is not meant to malign, to insult, to do anything to the contrary other than goodwill and good fate because I believe as a leader of a sub-national (government) I should tell the presidency what we feel about their reforms, about their initiatives which have concomitant effects on.
“And of course, when I said the reform has some good aspects but certainly at the end of the day, it is going to impoverish or put us in a very big comparative disadvantage to be able to live up to our obligation of paying salaries, doing infrastructure and so on and so forth.
“All states are not the same and we believe as the leader of the federation and all of us are federating entities, they should listen to us not to be arrogant and showing some element that whatever happens they will go ahead.
“And I think we must have the courage, with all humility and sincerity to say, please ‘listen to Nigerians, listen to us especially some of us that have apprehensions”, he said.
We’re not averse to reforms
The governor insisted that he and some northern opponents of the tax bills were not averse to reforms, “but there are some dangerous aspects” of the bills that need to be addressed.
The governor also faulted the “upward review of derivative and stiffening” of the agencies like the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) and other agencies which, according to him, will gradually lead to their death.
He said those agencies would not be able to perform their responsibilities to education and driving technology innovation in the north and other parts of the country.
On the president’s recent media chat, Mohammed said, “So many things stand out for me (from the presidential media chat) and that’s what informed my outburst during the Christmas. He has not shown remorse to (the) hardship we are going through as people of Nigeria at subnational level and he is not ready to be flexible to accommodate our interests.
“That’s what hit me. But certainly, I have a lot of respect for him (Tinubu). I don’t want to join issues with the president or the presidency, but I just want to be listened to.”
Earlier in a statement yesterday, the governor, in a statement by his spokesman, Mukhtar Gidado, said it was unfair to accuse him of branding the federal government’s tax reform as “anti-North” and unfairly criticising Tinubu’s administration.
“To start with, it is the height of mischief that Governor Bala Mohammed’s candid advice on the dangers of proceeding with bad decisions or policies that could worsen the plight of the masses, has been taken out of context, as a threat on the presidency.
“It would have been out of character for him to threaten the President or the presidency, an institution for which he has the greatest respect.
“His remarks were essentially precautionary, given the deep-seated frustrations caused by the prevailing economic situation and were aimed at ensuring that the proposed tax reforms are equitable, inclusive, and sensitive to the unique socio-economic challenges of the constituent parts of the country. His overall aim, as he has always done, was to foster dialogue and advocate for policies that protect the interests of ordinary Nigerians, particularly those in economically disadvantaged states.
“When Governor Bala Mohammed asserted that the Presidency’s attempt to shove the discredited tax reforms down the throat of Nigerians was a recipe for anarchy, he spoke from the position of someone who is closer to the populace and who carries the mandate of not only the over seven million people of Bauchi State but who also possesses an intimate knowledge of a very significant sub regional group in the country. It is not by accident that his genuine reservation against the tax reforms coincides with those of some APC governors who have consistently warned against implementing the proposed reform in its present form. Therefore, it smacks of a disingenuous attempt at blackmail and a throwback to the insensitivity of the Government to single Bala Mohammed out for inquisition. Could it be because he is of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)?
“If the Presidency had genuinely desired an all-inclusive tax reform that would command the buy-in of various stakeholder and subnational groups in the country, it could have subjected a draft to discussion before railroading it to the National Assembly. It did not. Even when it was given a soft landing by the National Economic Council, NEC, a body headed by the Vice President of the country and which, by that token, was expected to command the respect of the President, its advice that the reform be taken back was blatantly disregarded. So, who is against dialogue?”, he queried.
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