Governors meet in Abuja, mum on tax reform bills, others

For about an hour on Wednesday night, governors from the 36 states of the federation, under the auspices of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), met and emerged with sealed lips, foregoing the usual smiles and exchanges of banter.

No agenda was released, despite persistent pressure from journalists to uncover the official motives for the meeting, which began at the NGF headquarters around 10 p.m. and ended at about 11 p.m.
However, sources within the NGF hinted that the governors who attended the meeting were unable to reach an official agreement on the controversial tax reform bills.

It was learned that the failure to arrive at an agreement was the reason the NGF could not produce a communiqué after the meeting.

The governors also refused to speak to journalists after the meeting, a serious deviation from previous practices, where a designated governor would address the media on what transpired during their discussions.

For weeks, the governors have been confronted with the tax reform bills presented by President Bola Tinubu to the National Assembly.

The new tax bills introduced by the Tinubu administration have been enveloped in widespread controversy, sparking scathing criticisms and stiff opposition from many.

The 19 governors from northern Nigeria had unequivocally rejected sections of the bills and called for their withdrawal from the National Assembly.

This was followed by the outright rejection of the bills by the National Economic Council (NEC), composed of the Vice President and the 36 governors.

The meeting was attended by 15 governors, mostly from the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Governors Alex Otti of Abia State and Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State were also in attendance