President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has called for collaboration with the National Assembly to grow the economy.
Declaring the retreat for Senators on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms open at Four Points Hotel by Sheraton, Ikot Ekpene on Thursday, President Tinubu said it was unacceptable that 65 per cent of Nigerians, representing 84 million people were multi-dimensionally poor.
The president who was represented by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, said he was committed to making Nigeria’s economy grow from the current three per cent.
While speaking, Senate President, Godswill Akpabio said the retreat will transform the physical and mental psyche of Nigerians and look into fiscal laws that contradict the constitution with a view to initiating reviews.
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Akpabio said the opportunities given to government agencies to generate revenue and send pittance to the federal government were null and void as it was not in tandem with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“We want to assist the federal government, we are not against the federal government; but if we continue the way we are going, we will continue to have agencies of government spending more monies, agencies competing with the federal government, building schools, engaging in scholarships, and building universities.”
He traced insecurity in the country to the mining of natural resources across different states of the country, without proper regulation and remittance to the coffers of the government, and called for a long-term plan to improve the internally generated revenue of the country.
On his part, the Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin said fiscal policy and tax reforms that guarantee the nation’s survival should be central to Nigeria’s policies and governance as long as it does not add to the economic woes of the citizens.
Also speaking, the Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas said high revenue spent on debt servicing constrained the fiscal space for other developmental needs, adding that the multiplicity and duplication of taxes impact negatively on the nation’s efficient tax system.
While speaking, Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno said the retreat showed the commitment of the 10th Senate in making laws for the economic prosperity and well-being of Nigerians.
In his welcome remarks, the Director General of the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), Prof. Abubakar Sulaiman, said as an institutional member of the committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, NILDS shows the importance of the National Assembly to the socio-economic agenda of Tinubu’s administration.
