2 days Ago By Rapheal
From Ismail Omipidan, Abuja “Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense.” The above quote, by Winston Churchill, the late UK Prime Minister, appears apt in looking at the ongoing brickbats between some leaders in the North and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over the contentious Tax Reform bills, with President Tinubu holding on tenaciously to his belief that the bills have come to stay. Last week, Bauchi State Governor, Senator Bala Mohammed insisted that the bills are tilted in favour of only one section of the country.
Interestingly, the governor made his position known when he received the Christian community on a courtesy visit to him, in Bauchi State. The governor, who also doubles as the chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors Forum, urged President Tinubu to back-pedal on the tax bills, saying that doing otherwise could lead to anarchy. According to him, the tax reform bills are not good policy for northern Nigeria “because we are not going to get money to pay you salaries.
They must listen, otherwise, they are calling for anarchy and that is not good. We voted for the president in the state and other states. “They must listen to us! They must not come up with a policy that favours only one state in the country.
It is not about religion. It is not about tribe. It is about national unity.
It is about national hegemony. We are all about good leadership, and we will continue to urge them for the time being, but if the situation persists, they will see our real colour. We are going to fight for it,” the governor declared.
Almost immediately, the presidency fired back, saying that the remarks by the governor is a display of poor statesmanship that undermines efforts to promote national unity. Special Adviser to the President on Media and Communications, Sunday Dare, who reacted on his verified X handle last Monday, noted that the Bauchi Governor’s comments were “divisive” and “unbecoming of a state’s leader.” He further said “This kind of rhetoric is divisive and undermines the collaborative spirit needed between state governments and the Federal Government to address the pressing challenges facing our nation.
“It is worth noting that Bauchi State has been a key beneficiary of federal allocations, yet the state continues to struggle with poverty and underdevelopment. “Instead of issuing threats, the governor should focus on using these resources to improve the lives of his people. “The Tax Reform Act includes provisions that directly benefit states like Bauchi, particularly its small business owners and farming communities.
Governor Mohammed should embrace these reforms and leverage them to drive economic growth”, Dare added. Twenty-four hours after the presidency’s reaction, the Bauchi State Governor claimed that his initial opposition to the bills, was not an attack on President Tinubu. He however insisted that the President should prioritise consultation with governors and other stakeholders, even as he failed to explain what he had spent the N144 billion he had received as federal allocations on, since May 2023, which the presidency noted was the highest in the history of the State.
By Wednesday this week, the Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, also joined the army of Northern leaders opposed to the contentious tax reform bills. He spoke through his deputy, Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo, during the 2025 celebrations held at the Filin Mahaha, Kofar Naisa Open Theatre in Kano. Incidentally, the Kano State Governor was among the governors who paid homage to President Tinubu in Lagos, the same Wednesday.
Contending that the tax reform bills are not the solution to the country’s economic challenges, the Governor noted that “Kano State stands firmly against any policy that negatively affects the welfare of our people,” adding that the bills were “ill-timed, lopsided and inimical to the unity of the country. Nigerians in general and the North in particular, are growing under hyperinflation and unprecedented insecurity. Therefore, the presidency should pay more attention to tackling extreme poverty and hunger, especially in the northern part of the country.
” Although the presidency is yet to respond to the Kano State Government’s latest position, Daily Sun investigations reveal that for now, there is no sign to indicate that President Tinubu would backdown on the tax reform bills, for he has in the last 19 months or so of his presidency displayed immense courage in the face of danger and adversity, including showing remarkable resilience in the face of setbacks and failures. However, pundits familiar with the Nigerian-kind of politics are of the view that President Tinubu must of necessity ensure that his economic reforms begin to have direct bearings on the lives of the Nigerian masses from the first quarter of this year. Daily Sun recalls that the year 2024 saw Nigerians grapple with hardship occasioned by inflation.
And for 2025, expectations are already high that things would get better, going by the assurance from President Tinubu and his economic team. But time is of the essence for the administration that would be in its mid-term by May 29, 2025. If the conventional pattern of politics in the country is anything to go by, governance may likely take a flight any time from the second quarter of this year, as politicking for the 2027 general elections would take the front row.
President Tinubu appears to see himself more like a purposeful leader, desirous of changing the face of public service and governance in Nigeria, with a view to leaving behind an indelible mark of leadership. Although, rightly or wrongly, his idea about governance appears to stand him out, in an attempt to change the people’s ways of doing things, President Tinubu, has in the process, since becoming Nigeria’s President about two years ago, stoked several controversies- from fuel subsidy removal, to floating of the naira, down to the issue of tax reform bills, President Tinubu appears to be at home with stirring controversies. He may have so far survived all the other controversies, the tax reform bills, if forced down the throat of Northerners without some modifications as being proposed by some leaders from the region, Daily Sun gathered, may end up becoming a bitter pill to swallow for President Tinubu.
This is so because as it stands, some have succeeded in branding the bills anti-Islam. And the easiest way to deal decisively with anyone politically in the North, is to brand such a politician anti-Islam. The offensive provisions according to the North One of the major misgivings the North appears to have against the tax reform bills is the proposed increase in the Value Added Tax (VAT) and the distribution of revenue to the states.
For instance, Section 146 of the Nigeria Tax Bill provides for an increase in VAT from the current 7.5 percent to 10 percent in 2025, 12. 5 percent in 2026- 2029 and 15 percent in 2030.
Additionally, the North appears to have issue with Section 77 of the Tax Administration bill, which states that revenue accruing from VAT shall be distributed on to the three tiers of government as follows: Federal Government- 10 percent; state government- 55 percent and local government 35 percent, “ provided that 60 percent of the amount standing to the credit of states and local governments shall be distributed among them on the basis of derivation.” The North believes that this particular Section 77 of Tax Administration Bill, would affect the region adversely. The region is also frowning at Chapter 2, Part 1, Section 4, sub-section 3 of the National Tax Bill; titled “Income, profits or gains chargeable to tax.
” This section deals with income of a family recognised under any law or custom in Nigeria as family income in “which several interests of individual members of the family cannot be separately determined.” This provision, according to the Northern leaders is anti-Islam as it is tantamount to taxing inheritance, a thing that is forbidden in Islam. The League of Northern Democrats (LND), a political pressure group comprising eminent Northern politicians and technocrats, in its report on the tax bills, noted that the proposed increase in VAT seems hasty and would impose more hardship on the people.
The LND, led by former Kano State Governor, Ibrahim Shekarau, in the report, which was presented in Abuja recently, noted that “records indicate that VAT was introduced at the rate of 5% in 1993, and was revised to 7.5% in 2020, a 2.5% increase after 27 years.
The proposal to increase VAT rate to 10% after only Four years appears too quick and hasty. This has the potential to exacerbate the current burden on households through direct increases in prices in a period of sustained high inflation. “This long-term plan for periodic increment in VAT rate is clearly unscientific apart from being technically unpredictable.
Appropriate VAT rate should be determined by the economic situation in that period.” So far, President Tinubu appears open to further dialogue on the matter. Will he succumb to what looks like a blackmail over the matter from a section of the North? It seems only time will tell.
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