Tax Reform Bills: Dogara Says Nigerians Should Eliminate Religious and Regional Limitations
Yakubu Dogara, a former speaker of the house, has urged his fellow Nigerians to be objective in their evaluation of the tax reform bills.
The administration of President Bola Tinubu has sparked controversy in the nation by sending the tax reform proposals to the National Assembly.
Others think the legislation should be removed for more examination, while still others say they are biassed against the northern area.
However, Dogara has taken issue with the complaints levelled against the laws and is calling for Nigerians to carefully consider the advantages of them.
“We should remove the cap of regionalism, the cap of sectionalism, and the cap of religion and put on the cup of leadership because that is what will resolve the quarrel that we have,” he remarked on Monday during Channels Television’s Special Town Hall on the Tax Reform Bills.
Some think the tax reform proposals are timing themselves, given that inflation is above 30% and millions of Nigerians are struggling to afford basic necessities.
Some people think the legislation haven’t been discussed enough.
Dogara maintains that the measures should not be dismissed based on these considerations alone.
“I believe the timing issue is one of the main objections.” Respected figures have said this to me.
“But in leadership, the way I have heard people discuss timing is a tragic misconception of time itself, as there is no such thing as the future or the past,” said he.
That is all we have at the moment. What you do right now is what will shape your history. Your destiny is in the hands of you right now.
It makes no difference to me whether it was on the president’s agenda or not. My one and only worry as a leader is whether or not the decision is correct.
“Secondly, I have heard reports of inadequate consultation.” Instead of concentrating on doing the right thing and offering answers, I’ve heard lawmakers act as if they were speaking on behalf of a governors’ forum or someone else.
“Now, I’m not sure why Taiwo Oyedele, who leads the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee and is a panellist for the event, didn’t address some of these issues.” When we meet, though, I expect him to bring up the question of whether or not the governors were adequately consulted.
However, I am compelled to ask: how many individuals do governors at the state level consider when draughting legislation? No, I will not be taking them on. Some governors even write state laws while relaxing in their couches.