Lawmakers from the South – across party lines – said they have endorsed the Executive Bill.

They expressed interest in dialogue with their colleagues who have misgivings on the Bills, intended to revitalise the dormant tax laws of the country.

Leader of the Southern caucus in the Green Chamber Nichola Mutu (PDP, Delta), said yesterday that the lawmakers are in a position to carry out their constitutional duty of lawmaking and should not shy away from it.

Mutu said: “We members of the Southern Caucus have met and welcome the Bills and we are ready to dialogue”.

He was accompanied Fred Agbedi (PDP, Bayelsa), Babajimi Benson (APC, Lagos) and Pascal Agbodike (APGA, Anambra) to the news conference.

Unlike in the Senate, where the Tax Reform Bills are at the public hearing stage, having passed first and second reading, the House of Representatives has kept the Bills in abeyance after an attempt at first reading turned rowdy.

Last week, when House spokesman Akin Rotimi mentioned the support for the Bills by Ekiti State Caucus, while presenting a report, some members shouted him down. He had to be rescued by the presiding officer.

Yesterday, Mutu said the caucus was ready to interface with lawmakers from other parts of the country on the nitty gritty of the tax bills.

He added: “The Southern Caucus welcome the tax reform bills with so much excitement. We are open to dialogue and at the right time, we will capture the people’s element that is missing in the bill.

“We are open to dialogue. We have not gone beyond that. This is just the first process. But just to inform you that we have received the bill, we welcome the bill, and we are open to dialogue. That is all.”

Agbedi said the National Assembly has the responsibility to receive bills from Nigerians, including the Executive, and process them for the good of Nigerians.

He said: “It is the responsibility of the National Assembly to receive bills and proposals, go through them and ensure they are in line with the interest of the country.

“There is a process involved in the lawmaking. The Executive has presented the tax bills to the National Assembly and we will follow due process in processing them and then invite the public to make their own inputs.

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“We are ready to take our responsibility, to make laws and we are in consonance with our people. Some states have taken positions and others are still discussing and will take position on the bills.

“We are ready to make better laws for the good governance of the country. We will put the bills through the principles of lawmaking. We will make amendment where necessary to the bills, then pass them and transmit to the President for his assent.

“It is the responsibility of the House of Representatives, the Senate, the National Assembly, to receive proposals or any sort of bill from either the Executive or the individual bills. Once they are received, they go through the House procedures, processes, and then, the public is invited. Here, Mr. President has sent an Executive Bill.

“What the Southern Caucus is saying is that we are ready to take up our official responsibility of making laws for the nation. And so, we welcome the bill. As we process it, input are made from our various states and constituencies. Some states have already received those input.

“At the end of the day, amendments, innovations will be brought into that proposal. And it will be passed by both Houses and then, the president will assent to whatever amendments that are done to his proposal. The caucus is ready to run with the proposal that Mr. President has sent.

Benson said Section 4 of the Constitution gives the responsibility of making laws to the National Assembly, assuring that lawmakers would abide by the rule of law.

He said no bill is widely acceptable to all Nigerians, recalling that the Petroleum Industry Bill took many years to pass after series of negotiations and getting others to have a buy in.

He said “we will go through the law, sit with our brothers, do the front and back and at the end, Nigeria will be better for it”

He said “Section 4 of the Constitution gives the responsibility of making laws for the good governance of the country to the National Assembly. Now, the National Assembly, as you are aware, has two arms, the Senate and the House of Reps.

“The rule of law says that your Executive can present bills, and there are processes where those bills can be treated. Bills go through first reading, goes through second reading. If it passes, we do our public hearing.

“There’s no bill that has a national outlook that there won’t be interest colliding one way or the other. But our job is to sit down with our brothers, find the middle course and I’ll go back to history. The derivative, the 13% that is being received by oil producing states, started with 50%. Recently, we did the PIB. We had issue with the host community.

“So, there’s negotiation back and forth. At the end of the day, Nigerians will be better for it. Negotiation is an act. We will sit down, go back and forth, exchange, make them see reason, we see reason, and we all ensure that this matter comes to a logical end and it will be in the interest of the people of Nigeria.”

The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, explained why the four tax bills should be thoroughly debated.

He said policy formulation and debates are inseparable.

The minister, according to a statement by his media aide, Rabiu Ibrahim, spoke in Abuja when he received the management of the Progressives Institute, led by the Director General, Dr. Lanre Adedayo, on a visit to his office.

The minister said constructive engagement with stakeholders and the public on any policy of the government would ensure that policies are well-aligned with the needs and aspirations of citizens.

Idris said: “Let’s take the tax reform, for example, that has generated so much debate with some people saying that the debate is against government policy or the President and I tend to disagree.

“I think that these are healthy debates that all of us are having so that we can make this bill better. For anyone who thinks that debate and putting out policy are mutually exclusive, I think that’s wrong.

“There will always be the opportunity to have a healthy debate so that whatever government puts forward, can be made better. In any case, this is being done for the benefit of all Nigerians. Therefore, Nigerians have the democratic right to interrogate government policies, provided the commentaries are healthy and are geared towards making the policies better.”

The minister emphasised that the tax reform proposed by the President is not intended to place any part of the country at a disadvantage.

Idris explained that it is designed to promote inclusive growth and stimulate economic activities across the nation, in line with President Tinubu’s commitment to equitable development and prosperity for all Nigerians.

The minister urged Nigerians to actively participate in discussions on government policies, as their contributions are invaluable in strengthening the nation’s democratic process.

Idris said the reforms that the President instituted are bold and tough, but the surest way to fulfill his campaign promise of promoting progress and prosperity for all Nigerians.

He added: “Reforms are usually tough, usually hard, but once they are followed through, they deliver extraordinary results and we know that the direction that this government is going, we are extremely confident that all the reform processes that Mr. President has instituted, will take us to the desired destination.”

Idris expressed delight that so far, Nigerians are beginning to see the benefits of the reforms, especially through the recent positive indices provided by the National Bureau of Statistics on the performance of the economy.

He commended the National Chairman of the APC, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, for setting up the Progressives Institute, highlighting that it’s envisioned to serve as the intellectual engine room of the party and the government through research on policies and programmes to be implemented or being implemented by the administration.

Dr. Adedayo said for the first time in the history of political parties in Nigeria, the APC floated the Institute to serve as a think-tank and provide the intellectual foundation for capacity building, leadership recruitment, and research on policies of the administration.

He sought the support of the minister for the forthcoming conference being organized by the Institute on skills acquisition, entrepreneurship, and challenges of development.

Reforms equitable, says FRC

The Chairman of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC), Victor Muruako, said the proposed reforms would contribute to economic growth.

He spoke at the Fellowship Lecture and Investiture Ceremony of the Capital Market Academics of Nigeria (CMAN) in Abuja.

Muruako said the research conducted by the commission showed that the proposed reforms do not favor any specific region or group.

He said the bills, if passed into laws, will promote a fairer distribution of resources among Nigeria’s federating states.

Muruako added: “The bills are designed to benefit all Nigerians, particularly low-income earners and Micro, Small, and Medium Businesses (MSMBs).”

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