Northern Group Hails Abdullahi Sule for Embracing Tax Reform

James Emejo in Abuja

A Northern group, Arewa Think Tank (ATT), has commended the Nasarawa State Governor, Mr. Abdullahi Sule, for rescinding his initial opposition to the tax reform bills before the National Assembly.

The group described the governor’s resolve as a “remarkable show of maturity, understanding, and statesmanship in shifting ground from his earlier stance against the bills by openly expressing support for their passage”.

ATT, in a statement signed by its Convener, Muhammad Alhaji Yakubu, further described Sule’s shift of position against the bill as a good development and urged other northern governors to emulate him as well as encourage the National Assembly to pass all of the four tax reform bills without further delay.

Yakubu said: “We have discovered that the forces against Tinubu tax reform bills are not only fighting Tinubu; the fight is about liberating the North from the shackles hold of few elites, so it is additional reason for us to support Governor Sule’s position which originally is our position too.
“The North must make progress in this 21st century, the North can no longer stay behind. So, the few elites that don’t want us to make progress, the majority must be victorious in this regard.

“We agreed completely with the views expressed by the Nasarawa State governor, Abdullahi Sule on a National Television programme, that the initial opposition from the northern state governors against the tax reform was propelled by a lack of adequate clarity and understanding of some of the contents of the bills.”

The group also commended the courage displayed by Tinubu adding that the president encouraged the true spirit of democracy and freedom of expression among Nigerians in the heat of discussions around the tax reform.

It said, “ATT received this as a welcome development especially as it came in the wake of continuous stakeholder engagement by the chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reform, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele.
“We, therefore, commend Governor Abdullahi Sule, who is also the chairman of the North-central Governors Forum, for his remarkable show of maturity, understanding, and statesmanship in shifting ground from his earlier stance against the bills, by openly expressing support for their passage.

“We want to use this opportunity to call on all his colleagues in the Northern Governors Forum to join him in encouraging the National Assembly to pass all of the four tax reform bills without further delay.”

The group said, “To this end, we want to salute the courage displayed by the president for encouraging the true spirit of democracy and freedom of expression among Nigerians in the heat of discussions around the tax reform amid the emerging argument for and against the bills.

“Also, we want to appreciate the continuous efforts, sacrifices, and commitment exhibited by both the Chairman of the Presidential Committee and the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Zach Adedeji in their drive to enlighten Nigerians on the objectives of the Tinubu tax reform.

“We want to restate once more that there is no aspect of the tax reform bills that is prejudicial to the economic interest of Northern Nigeria or any part of the country as argued by some mischief makers.

“We know that the bills, amongst others, seek to exempt the teeming population of masses from the payment of tax until they can attain a significant level of economic productivity.”
It added: “We also know that when passed into law, the reform bills will leverage all sub-national governments in the country with the capacity to create more jobs and wealth.

“Arewa Think Tank has been calling and will continue to call on political and traditional leaders in the North to support the passage of the tax reform bills to counter the political mischief that has misled the people of the region against the Tinubu’s administration.

“We have said without number that the North in particular will become more innovative from the implementation of the tax reform and as such the region should not waste time in accepting the reality of the reform, especially now that many governors of the region are now supporting the reform bills on tax.”