The South-South caucus of the Senate has held an emergency meeting to bolster support for the Tax Bills which had divided the National Assembly following contentions over the VAT provisions in the proposed tax reform bills.
The development comes as indication emerged that the Senate may get the revised bills on Tuesday, according to a senator who spoke in confidence.
Announcing their decision in a communiqué on Thursday after the meeting which was held on Wednesday, the federal lawmakers hailed the landmark tax reform bills, stating that they would enhance national revenue and foster economic stability.
Part of the communique signed by Senator Seriake Dickson (Balyesa West) read, “We, the Senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria from the South-South geopolitical Zone, met on Wednesday, December 4, 2024, to deliberate on key national issues and the role of the Senate in advancing the collective interest of the country.
“Recognizing the importance of tax reforms in enhancing national revenue and fostering economic stability, we resolved to support the Tax Reforms Bills.
“This support will be anchored on a comprehensive study and thorough evaluation of the content of the Bills to ensure they align with the overall interest of Nigerians, particularly the well-being of the South-South region.’’
The caucus called for restraint ‘’on the part of those bent on introducing sentiments, whether regional, ethnic or tribal to a national dialogue and looks forward to robust interactions and consultations as already commenced by the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.’’
“We remain committed to working collaboratively with our colleagues across the Senate and all stakeholders in fostering a legislative agenda that guarantees the peace, prosperity, and progress of our beloved nation,” the southern senators assured.
The lawmakers also passed a vote of confidence in the leadership of the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.
They said, “The South-South Senators unanimously agreed and passed a vote of confidence in the Senate President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“We reaffirm our unwavering commitment to standing by him and supporting his leadership in steering the Senate toward its constitutional mandate of making laws that serve the best interests of the nation and its citizens.
“We pledge our full support to the Senate President and the leadership of the National Assembly in their efforts to ensure the effective and timely passage of legislation aimed at promoting good governance, national unity, and economic development.’’
Meanwhile, there was confusion in the Senate on Thursday as Akpabio denied that the public hearing on the Tax Reform Bills had not been suspended.
This clarification is on the heels of the directive from Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau during Wednesday’s plenary.
Barau had instructed the Senate Committee on Finance to halt activities related to the bills and constituted a special committee to liaise with the Attorney-General of the Federation.
“Consequently, the Senate Committee on Finance has been directed to pause further actions on public hearings and other matters related to the tax reform bills until the issues are resolved,” he stated.
Barau also named a 10-man committee including the entire leadership of the Senate and specifically named the chief Whip, Tahir Monguno ( APC, Borno South) as one of the members.
At the commencement of Thursday’s plenary, Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, read a letter from Monguno claiming that since he was the highest-ranking lawmaker in the special committee, he should be the chairman.
In response to this, the Senate president ruled out anyone in the Senate leadership as a member of the committee.
He admitted the error in naming Monguno as the North-East representative and not as a principal officer.
Akpabio thereafter named Senator Kaka Shehu, SAN (APC, Borno South) as a replacement for Monguno.
The Senate retained Senator Abba Moro (PDP, Benue South) as the head of the special committee, which also includes Senators Adamu Aliero (PDP, Kebbi Central), Orji Uzor Kalu (APC, Abia North), Seriake Dickson (PDP, Bayelsa West), Titus Zam (APC, Benue South), Abdullahi Yahaya (PDP, Kebbi North), Adeola Olamilekan (APC, Ogun West), Sani Musa (APC, Niger East), and Adetokunbo Abiru (APC, Lagos East).
Bamidele further dismissed rumours of the bill’s withdrawal, emphasizing that the decision of the Senate was misunderstood.
He said, “It was a misunderstanding of the legislative process for anyone to suggest that the bills were withdrawn. These are executive bills, and only the executive arm can withdraw them. The Senate remains committed to deliberating and addressing any concerns in the public interest.
“The bills were executive bills transmitted to us by the executive arm of government through the office of Mr. President. It’s only the executive arm that can withdraw these bills. They are not private member bills sponsored by any senator.
“So, no senator is going to withdraw the bill. And there is no reason for this bill to be withdrawn. In the legislative process, it is normal that some people have concerns.”
He further explained that the ad-hoc committee was formed to interface with stakeholders and address grey areas while the Finance Committee continues its preparations for the public hearing.
According to him, the process aligns with the Senate’s constitutional role, urging the public to exercise patience as the legislative process unfolds.
The Senate leader said, “They understand our role in the Constitution. Any attempt from any quarter to intimidate the parliament would be undemocratic and we will not allow ourselves to be distracted.
“But we will encourage consensus, we will encourage discussions, and engagement at all levels. But we cannot be bullied into adopting a certain procedure.”
Bamidele added, “It is normal that people will sit around those concerns and discourse. That is why, in its wisdom, this Senate, in referring this matter to the Senate Committee on Finance, gave them as much as six weeks.
“Our instruction was that, deliberate, organize, I mean, publicly and submit your report not more than, not later than six weeks.
“It might not be up to six weeks, but if they choose to be up to six weeks, nobody will quarrel with them.
“Six weeks is long enough in a country that wants progress for a consensus to be reached; for anybody who has concerns, to sit down and allow those concerns to be addressed in a variety of public interest.
“And in any case, Mr. President and distinguished colleagues, we are continuing with the deliberation, with the consideration of this bill,” he emphasised.
Senate President Akpabio reiterated this stance, describing reports of suspension or withdrawal of the bills as misleading.
He clarified that the bills, having passed the second reading, are alive and under consideration, with the Finance Committee tasked to commence consultations and public hearings to address concerns and make recommendations.
“The bills are alive and have passed the second reading. Committees have been set up to handle consultations, address grey areas, and move the process forward.
“We encourage discussions and consensus but will not be intimidated or bullied into any decisions.”
He emphasized the legislative process, stating, “We do not do our work through social media, nor do we do it through any community or congregation of the church or any forum of any nature. We do our work according to our conscience in the best interest of Nigerians.”
He added, “In the event that some people are either uneducated on some aspects of the bill, or confused, or there are grey areas to be sorted out, they should interface with the judiciary and executive.”
He commended Moro for swiftly initiating consultations and reiterated that neither the bills nor the legislative process had been halted.
“The actions have not been suspended. The bills have not been withdrawn. And the bills have passed second reading in the Senate,” he reiterated.
Akpabio urged aggrieved stakeholders, including state governors, to participate in the public hearing to air their grievances, emphasizing that the lawmakers would not be intimidated.
“Reforms, no matter how difficult, will be pursued if they serve the public good. For instance, the tax reform bill includes provisions that exempt businesses earning below ₦50m from taxes, eliminate multiple taxation, and exempt those earning minimum wage or less. These measures will benefit over 100m Nigerians,” Akpabio stated.
He assured Nigerians of the Senate’s commitment to progress, adding that deliberations on the bills would be finalized within the coming weeks.
In another development, the PUNCH gathered that the scheduled Thursday meeting with the AGF did not hold as he was out of the country.
Sources in the senate committee noted that the AGF informed the members that he had no formal invite from the Senate yet.
One of the sources said, “We were informed that the meeting with AGF was for 1 pm. However, when it was time, we were told that it had been shifted to 2 pm.
‘’By the time we waited in futility, one of the members of the committee pulled a call through to the AGF who said that he was not aware of any formal Senate invite before him.
“So, the committee is just trying to put things together and officially send the AGF an invite.
“We will send the invite by next week and we hope that we can meet with the AGF next week. For now, no fixed date yet.”
The source further explained that the committee intends to finish its meetings and deliberations in two weeks and report back to the Senate once they are done.
In the House of Representatives, the leadership is optimistic that the current stalemate over the four tax bills transmitted to the National Assembly by President Bola Tinubu would be passed for a second reading.
The proposed laws have elicited debate across the country and they include the Nigeria Tax Bill, the Tax Administration Bill, and the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill.
Meanwhile, a member of the New Nigeria People’s Party representing Alabsu/Gaya/Ajingi Federal Constituency, Kano State, Tijjani Ghali, has urged the Federal Government ‘’to perish the thought of seeing the tax bills passed by the House.’’
Insisting that the bills are aimed at making life unbearable for Nigerians, particularly the poor; Ghali urged the Federal Government to block revenue leakages and tap into the mining sector to generate additional revenue.
In an interview, the lawmaker said, “Our mineral resources sector has not been tapped adequately. If Nigeria is looking for revenue, it should invest in mineral resources, and mining, and do the necessary investments. The resources definitely will come to the country.
‘’Similarly, Nigeria is losing a lot of money in terms of revenue, in terms of tax evasion and transfer pricing manipulation. The Nigerian government or the current government should think of blocking such leakages rather than taxing more people in the country or taxing the companies that are willing to invest and employ more labour. Therefore, I think for such reasons, the tax bills are anti-masses.”
Ghali further berated the Federal Government for ignoring the counsel of the governors that the bills be withdrawn for more consultation.
“Unfortunately, the Presidency doesn’t like to listen to such a very important group (NEC) and they went ahead to also push it to the National Assembly.
‘’Yes, we understand the National Assembly has a vital role to play in these bills, but you cannot neglect the Nigerian Governors Forum as well as the National Economic Council,” he added.
Govs mobilised members to block bills’ passage – lawmaker
An opposition member from the North-East blamed President Tinubu for failing to get the nod of the governors before transmitting the bills to the National Assembly.
Speaking with The PUNCH in confidence because the North-East caucus did not authorise him to speak on its behalf, the lawmaker said, “The governors mobilised members from their various states to block the bills because they felt slighted by President’s bypass of the NEC.
“This way, they will be difficult to sail. You have seen the body language of members when they took on the House spokesperson, Mr Akin Rotimi.”
On the way out of the stalemate, the lawmaker, said “I can tell you that the simplest way to resolve this stalemate is for the President to meet with the governors or direct his Vice President to convene an emergency NEC meeting to address the grey areas in the bills.”
He further added that the directive of the President mandating the AGF to interface with the parliament on the issue has not been discussed by the legislative body.
“The House is yet to take a stand and there was no communication from the President for the House to meet with the Attorney General of the Federation to address concerns raised in the bills,” he added.
Another lawmaker painted a gloomy picture of what to expect when the House reconvene for plenary next week.
An APC lawmaker described the proposals as brilliant, adding, however, that the opposition to the bills from the North is a huge concern.
“The President did not do well in the handling of this matter. The governors felt disrespected and most of these lawmakers you see owed their political survival to their governors.
‘’Without the governors, some of them have little political strength. That is why I believe, it is going to be very difficult,” he said on condition of anonymity.
It was gathered that the House leadership has adopted an informal approach to wooing lawmakers to support the bills.
Consequently, party and state caucuses have been tasked to meet separately in a bid to spotlight the merits of the bills.
On Thursday in an interview, the member representing Ido/Osi/Moba/Ilejemeji Federal Constituency, Ekiti State, Kolawole Akinlayo, dispelled insinuations that the bills might have met a dead end.
He said, “These bills will pass. I am one hundred per cent sure of that. What is happening here is that some people are opposed to the bills simply because they have not taken the time to read the merits contained in the proposal.
‘’The arguments against the bills are out of place. I make bold to say that this is the best set of bills we have had for many years. Yes, we are in a democracy and as a result, we can only reach out to those opposed to the bills.
‘’We are lobbying the anti-tax bills lawmakers and to a large extent, we are saying, ‘Please, take your time to look at these beautiful reform proposals.’ If they do, they will change their position because every state will benefit from it. We are lobbying them and we will continue to lobby.”
The Ekiti lawmaker further stressed that the biggest intent of the bills is to champion true federalism and ensure progressive taxation, with the rich expected to pay a higher percentage of their income as tax than the poor.
He said, “The objective of the tax bill is to achieve true federalism where you tax the rich to pay for the poor. As it stands today, if you look at the gap between the rich and the poor, it is extremely very wide, which is not too palatable for a country of about 230 million population.
“What the President intends to do is to bridge that gap, so that the rich will be taxed more to pay for the poor. But it appears some people for reasons best known to them, are not looking at this. There is nothing in the tax reform bills that is anti-North or anti-South. What we are doing now is negotiating and lobbying.”
While noting that those against the bills are citing the derivation component and VAT increment as a source of worry, Akinlayo noted that at present, the VAT is 7.5 per cent, adding that when passed, it will jump to 10 per cent.
