Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Zulum, explained on Sunday why northern governors advised President Bola Tinubu to delay pushing the controversial tax reform bills.
Speaking as a guest on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, Governor Zulum stated that the Northern Governors Forum simply requires more time for consultation before moving forward with the bills.
“On this tax issue, there are a lot of misconceptions. We felt that the VAT provision in the tax law. Based on the calculations that we did, only Lagos and Rivers States will benefit from this scheme. We did our own research and concluded that we would lose,” Zulum said.
“Why are we in a rush? We advised the Federal Government to take a pause and expunge some of the clauses that are inimical to Northern Nigeria.
“What we are saying is that give more time, let us do a deeper consultation to understand the nitty-gritty of this tax regime before passing it into law.”
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Zulum explained that if the bill is passed by the National Assembly, states will be disadvantaged, with Lagos State being the primary beneficiary of the policy.
In October, President Tinubu urged the National Assembly to approve the bills.
The proposed bills include: the Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria (Establishment) Bill, 2024 (SB.583); the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill, 2024 (SB.584); the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, 2024 (SB.585); and the Nigeria Tax Bill, 2024 (SB.586).
On November 28, the tax reform bills passed their second reading in the Senate.
Zulum further emphasized that, contrary to some claims, northern governors are not opposed to President Tinubu’s administration. He recalled that prior to the 2023 general elections, he was one of the few governors who advocated for power rotation to the South.
As a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Zulum expressed his support for Tinubu’s presidential campaign.
He argued that the North cannot be against Tinubu, given that over 60 percent of his votes in the 2023 elections came from the region. Zulum expressed disappointment that some people were spreading a false narrative suggesting that the North is opposed to Tinubu’s government.
“I am a strong member of APC. If you can count two governors before 2019 and 2023 who were in support of Tinubu, you can mention Governor Zulum. I was the first governor to come out publicly and say that power must go to the South.
“Unfortunately, the President was told by many that the North was against him. 60.2 per cent of his votes came from the north,” he added.
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