By Kolawole Ojebisi
After hours of deliberation by the members of the National Economic Council, the body on Thursday resolved to halt the proposed Tax Reforms policy by President Bola Tinubu.
The council has, thereby, requested the president to withdraw the Tax Reforms Bills from the National Assembly to allow for wider consultations and consensus building.
Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State disclosed this to journalists after the council meeting stressing that there’s need to enlighten Nigerians about the policy and its inherent benefits.
Makinde noted that this formed part of resolutions reached at the 144th meeting of the National Economic Council at the State House, Abuja.
“NEC noted the need for sufficient alignment on the proposed reforms and recommended the withdrawal of the tax reform bills,” he stated.
Makinde stated that this decision was made for the benefit of the country and emphasized the need for further consultations regarding the bills.
“We saw the gap and decided that there is a need for a wider consultation,” he added.
It would be recalled that President Tinubu and members of the Federal Executive Council( FEC) had recently endorsed new policy initiatives to streamline Nigeria’s tax administration processes.
The Federal Government says the new laws are meant to enhance efficiency and eliminate redundancies across the nation’s tax operations.
The proposed reforms, according to the federal government, emerged after a review of existing tax laws since August 2023. The National Assembly is considering four executive bills containing these tax reform efforts.
NEC’s decision came days after the Northern Governors kicked against the reform bills. At a meeting on October 28, 2024, Governors of the 19 Northern States, under the platform of the Northern Governors’ Forum, rejected the new derivation-based model for Value-Added Tax distribution in the new tax reform bills before the National Assembly.
A communiqué read by the Chairman of the forum, Governor Muhammed Yahaya of Gombe State, said the proposition negates the interest of the North and other sub-nationals.
Also hours after the meeting of governors of Northern extraction, another politician of note from the region, Ali Ndume vowed to resist the reforms with everything within his power.
