Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Zulum, has claimed that only Lagos and Rivers states are likely to benefit from President Bola Tinubu’s proposed tax reform bills.
Speaking as a guest on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, the governor explained that this assessment was based on research and calculations conducted by northern governors.
He also elaborated on why the northern governors advised President Tinubu to delay the implementation of the controversial bills.
Read Also: Real Reason Northern Governors Asked Tinubu To Stop Tax Reform Bills – Zulum
“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.”
Governor Zulum stated that if the bill is approved by the National Assembly, it would disadvantage other states, with Lagos State being the sole beneficiary of the policy.
In October, President Tinubu urged the National Assembly to approve and pass the bills into law. The 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 also addressed claims that northern governors were opposed to President Tinubu’s administration. He clarified that before the 2023 general election, he was one of the few governors advocating for power to rotate to the South.
As a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), he supported Tinubu’s presidential campaign. Zulum emphasized that the North cannot be against Tinubu, as over 60% of his votes in the 2023 election came from the region. He expressed regret over the negative 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.
“But later on, people have turned it upside down. I want you to believe that our consultation is central to democracy, and in a democratic setting, we are begging for the right to be consulted. This is only what has happened, he added.
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