Northern Forum backs Tinubu on tax reform bill

The Progressive Northern Youth Forum (PNYF) has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for rejecting the National Economic Council’s (NEC) recommendation to withdraw the tax reform bills.

During the 144th meeting of the NEC, led by Vice President Kashim Shettima, the council had suggested that the bills be withdrawn following a meeting of governors from the 19 northern states in Kaduna, where they, along with prominent traditional leaders from the region, collectively decided to oppose the Nigeria Tax Reform Bill.

But President Tinubu, through a statement issued by his media aide, Bayo Onanuga, urged the NEC to allow the process to run its full course.

The PNYF, in a statement signed by its Secretary General, Abdulkadir Bala, on Saturday expressed its support for the President’s decision to disregard the stance of NEC members, particularly the Northern Governors’ Forum.

Bala emphasized that the position taken by the Northern Governors’ Forum does not accurately represent the views of the people of the region regarding the tax reform bills.

“The Progressive Northern Youth Forum (PNYF) commends President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for rejecting the National Economic Council’s (NEC) recommendation to withdraw the tax reform bills,” the statement said.

“We also want to clarify that the North does not support the position of the Northern Governors’ Forum regarding the tax reform bills. The Forum’s call for the withdrawal of these bills does not represent the views of the people in the region.

“The governors have consistently demonstrated a lack of initiative to lead the North and instead rely on federal allocations, squandering the resources of the people. rather than proposing similar bills to enhance their states’ internally generated revenues, the governors are inexplicably opposing efforts to reduce dependence on the federal government.

“If the governors genuinely cared for their constituents, they would have taken advantage of the opportunity to provide input and propose changes during the legislative process, rather than calling for the withdrawal of the bills from the National Assembly.”