On Wednesday, Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa announced that President Bola Tinubu has agreed to address contentious clauses in the proposed tax reform bills before they are passed by the National Assembly.
The four bills, which President Tinubu transmitted to both chambers of the legislature in September, had sparked controversy due to strong opposition from various groups.
These bills include the Nigeria Tax Bill 2024, the Tax Administration Bill, the Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Bill, and the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill.
Read Also: Why Lagos Is The Biggest Loser In Tax Reform Bills – Presidential Committee
Opponents of the bills included the Northern Governors Forum, the Traditional Rulers Council, the National Economic Council, and the Northern Elders Forum, among others.
Despite the backlash, the bills passed their second reading in the Senate.
During an interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today on Wednesday, Governor Sule confirmed that the issues had been resolved between the governors and President Tinubu. He stated that the President had directed that all recommendations be forwarded to the National Assembly.
Mr Sule said: “We have achieved our goal, that is the reason I talked differently today, because all we wanted to achieve has been achieved.
“We actually wanted the bill to be discussed further. We didn’t want this bill to be passed with all the content of what it is.
“Look at the way the house of representatives is handling it, I want to commend the house, particularly the speaker.
“I give credit to Mr. President; when the governors met with him, he told us that we don’t have to withdraw this bill [Tax Reform Bill].
“We can actually address all the concerns you have and all the amendments, and then we can pass the bill.
“For me, from that day, my issues with the bills have been resolved.
“What I didn’t want is a situation where we have bills with concern, especially for people like us, and then that bill is passed.
“But look at how the house of reps is handling, it has not even passed the second reading, they are taking inputs and making considerations from everybody.
“And this is a concurrent bill; it doesn’t matter if the Senate has passed the bill; if the House of Reps doesn’t pass it, it has no effect.”
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