Segun Sowunmi, a prominent chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has accused President Bola Tinubu of fueling the strong opposition to the tax bills introduced by his administration.
Speaking as a guest on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, Sowunmi criticized the president, who hails from the All Progressives Congress (APC), for appointing individuals from his own ethnic group to key positions such as the finance minister, revenue chair, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, and head of the tax reform team.
While acknowledging that the tax bills themselves were well-intentioned, Sowunmi argued that Tinubu’s failure to include northerners in these critical economic and tax-related roles had sown distrust among the northern population, exacerbating opposition to the reforms.
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Sowunmi said, “They (Tinubu and his team) created it by themselves. You can’t have FIRS chairman Yoruba, finance (minister) Yoruba, Customs (boss) Yoruba, CBN (governor) Yoruba. You can’t do that. And then suddenly, the Yoruba people came and said we have a new tax regime. They (people of other tribes) will be nervous.
“People are not in the National Assembly or the Senate not to protect the interest of their people; that’s why they are there. They are representatives of their people. That’s why the pushbacks will come.”
He said there is no bill without grey areas but the Tinubu government “caused it by itself”.
“You may mean well but let me have some of my own seated at the table to be sure that you mean well. Nobody will sit at the table and cause injury to his tribe,” he said.
The new tax bills introduced by the Tinubu administration have sparked widespread controversy, drawing sharp criticism and strong opposition from various quarters, including the 36 state governors under the National Economic Council (NEC). Additionally, the 19 governors from northern Nigeria have firmly rejected certain provisions of the bills.
Sowunmi said, “I think the President needs to tell them in very clear language that I won’t be sitting here as president and refusing to do the right thing for the country only because you want to threaten me with elections. When we get to the bridge of election, we will cross it.”
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