Reps postpone special session on Tinubu’s tax bills indefinitely

The House of Representatives has postponed the scheduled special Session on Tax Reform Bills slated for Tuesday, December 3, 2024, indefinitely.

The lower chamber said the decision is to allow for wider consultations on the proposed legislations.

This is contained in an internal memo sent to members of the House, signed by the House Clerk, Dr Yahaya Danzaria on Saturday.

Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu had after a long closed-door session on Thursday announced that the lower chamber would
special session on Tuesday to deliberate on the tax bills.

The House held a long closed-door session on Thursday that lasted over one hour before resuming plenary session.

-We will have a special session over the tax bill on Tuesday. This conversation is going to continue from now till Tuesday when we will invite these resource persons to be here to engage us. Thereafter we will decide which way to go,” Kalu said.

The four tax bills; Nigeria Tax Bill 2024, the Tax Administration Bill, the Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Bill, and the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill, are currently before the two chambers of the National Assembly.

However, the bills have met stiff opposition from the 36 state governors and northern stakeholders who called for their withdrawal to allow room for more consultation.

The memo by the House clerk reads, “I am directed by the House Leadership to inform all Honourable Members that the Special Session, initially scheduled for Tuesday, 3rd December, 2024, to discuss all the Tax Reform Bills, has been postponed to a later date.

“This rescheduling is due to the need for further and broader consultations with all relevant stakeholders.

“A new date and venue for the session will be communicated in due course. We regret any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding.”