• CNG wants bill suspended over regional imbalance, CACOL urges equity
• Pro-democracy activist decries ‘rubber stamp’ legislature under Akpabio
The storm gathering over the tax reform bills introduced by President Bola Tinubu may linger, as the South East caucus of the Southern Senators Forum has temporarily withdrawn its support for the bills.
It cited the need for broader consultation with governors, traditional rulers, opinion leaders and other constituents. Outside the legislative chamber, the Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) also called for the immediate suspension of the bills, citing the need for wider engagement and collective input from critical stakeholders and Nigerians to ensure a more equitable, transparent and sustainable tax administration system.
As the world marked International Anti-Corruption Day yesterday, the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership (CACOL) called for Nigeria’s new tax reform bill to prioritise equity.
Pro-democracy activist, Sen Uba Sani, on his part, expressed concerns over the perceived subservience of the Sen Godswill Akpabio-led National Assembly, warning it could embolden Tinubu towards autocratic tendencies.
The South East caucus’ decision, announced yesterday, marks a reversal of the earlier consensus among the 51 southern senators to back the bills. Barely a week after the Southern Senators Forum, led by Sen Adetokunbo Abiru (APC, Lagos East), resolved to support the bills as part of efforts to streamline Nigeria’s tax system, the 15 South East senators held an emergency meeting yesterday.
Rising from the meeting, they declared there would be no automatic support for the bills until they had engaged their constituents. Speaking after the meeting, the leader of the South East caucus, Sen Enyinnaya Abaribe (PDP, Abia South), clarified that the group was not opposing the bills but believed wider consultations were necessary.
“We are not against the tax reform bills before the National Assembly, but we need to consult with our constituents across the 15 senatorial districts in the zone, our state governments and other critical stakeholders,” Abaribe said.
Stressing the need for an equitable framework in the bills, he added: “We have read through the bills and want to share our knowledge with other stakeholders from the South East zone to ensure a much more equitable framework in the eventual legislation.”
Key areas of concern include the proposed distribution of Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue and the planned VAT rate increases. According to the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, net VAT revenue would be distributed as follows: 10 per cent to the Federal Government, 55 per cent to state governments and the Federal Capital Territory, and 35 per cent to local councils, with 60 per cent of the states’ and local councils’ share allocated based on derivation.
AT a press conference, yesterday, Kogi State Coordinator of CNG, Salau Habib, described the bills as a structural shift that could exacerbate economic inequalities between Northern and Southern Nigeria. He warned that while Lagos would consolidate its financial dominance, Northern states risk losing crucial resources critical for development.
“The tax reform raises significant concerns about the economic implications for Northern Nigeria while amplifying advantages for states like Lagos. Northern states that have relied heavily on equitable VAT redistribution risk losing up to 40 per cent of their current allocation, severely impacting states like Kogi,” Habib said.
He urged governments at all levels to prioritise industrial development and crack down on illegal mining activities in local communities rich in mineral resources. Habib also called on Kogi State Governor, Ahmed Ododo, to reconsider his administration’s support for the tax reform bill, arguing that its implementation would not serve the state’s best interests.
CACOL emphasised that such principles were critical to ensuring stability and fairness in the distribution of national resources.
In a statement signed by its Chairman, Mr Debo Adeniran, CACOL urged the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) to address derivation concerns in line with its constitutional mandate to develop a revenue-sharing formula.
Adeniran highlighted Section 162 (2) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which empowers RMAFC to formulate an equitable revenue-sharing model for the federal, state and local governments. He noted that this responsibility must reflect equity to maintain the constitutional order.
SPEAKING at the National Assembly Legislative Aides Forum (NASSLAF) Week in Abuja, yesterday, Sani described the 10th Assembly as a group of compliant representatives lacking the resolve to fulfil their legislative responsibilities.
His keynote address with the theme ‘Sustainable Democracy and Nation-building’ drew comparisons between the present legislature and the Bukola Saraki-led 8th Assembly, which, he argued, actively held the executive arm accountable.
Sani, who represented Kaduna Central in the Senate, acknowledged that the Saraki-era legislature’s adversarial stance towards the executive came at a cost, but maintained that it preserved the legislature’s sanctity.
