By Kolawole Ojebisi
The Senate has constituted a committee to address the grey areas in the tax reform bills.
The committee headed by the Minority Leader, Senator Abba Moro (PDP, Benue South) will report back to the committee of the whole before public hearing on the bills.
The Deputy Senate President Barau I Jibrin (APC, Kano North) announced this during plenary on Wednesday.
Barau who presided over the session said there were controversies over the bills, adding that the committee was saddled with the responsibility of consulting with the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), the executive arm and other critical stakeholders.
Barau also named Senators Titus Zam (APC, Benue North West), Orjir Uzor Kalu (Abia North), Sani Musa (APC, Niger East), Abdullahi Yahaha (Kebbi North) among others as members of the committee.
Recall that 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, Hon Tajuddeen Abbas, during separate plenaries of the two chambers.
Highlighting the merits of the bills, 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.
Meanwhile, some Nigerians, particularly those from the Northern region, have expressed their dissatisfaction over the bills.
Prominent among Northerners that have expressed misgivings about the motives of the bills is Borno State governor, Babagana Zulum.
Zulum had questioned the speed with which the bills are being passed in comparison with the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) which took decades to be passed.
He noted passing the bills into law which drag the north backwards as many governors from the region’s may not be able to pass workers’ salaries.
The Senator representing Borno South in the Red Chamber, Ali Ndume had also threatened to leave the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) if the bill is passed into law.
There was a rowdy session at the floor of the Senate yesterday when the spokesman of the chamber tried to speak in favour of the bills in a matter completely unrelated to the development.
