The Senator representing Borno North Central Senatorial District, Ali Ndume, has explained his opposition to the Tax Reform Bills, which have been passed for second reading in the Senate.
Speaking as a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Thursday, the former Senate Chief Whip criticised the timing of the bills, arguing that the focus should be on governance reforms before tax reforms.
PUNCH Online reports that the Senate passed the four tax bills for a second reading on Thursday through voice votes.
The bills include a proposal to establish the Joint Revenue Board, the Tax Appeal Tribunal, and the Office of the Tax Ombudsman, all part of President Bola Tinubu’s comprehensive tax reform package.
Ndume, however, outlined his concerns with the bills, citing issues such as the wrong timing, the question of derivation, Value Added Tax, and the lack of consensus or buy-in from Nigerians.
He further explained that the country spends over 50 per cent of its budget on recurrent expenditure and debt servicing.
“Yes, reform. But even with reforms, you have to prioritise, time it correctly, and ensure the buy-in of Nigerians because this is a democracy. It is the government of the people, for the people, and by the people.
“First in Nigeria, what we need to do is reform the government. Our personnel and overhead expenditure for 2024 is about 50 to 60 per cent of the budget itself. We are here in November, and 20 per cent of the budget has not been implemented. But if you check the recurrent expenditure, it has already been exhausted.
“So, that means over 15 to 20 trillion naira is going into personnel, debt servicing, and recurrent expenditure. We should reform the government, not only the Executive – we need to reform the government holistically,” he said.
The Senator also raised concerns that, despite being an Executive Bill, the Senate treated it as if it were a Presidential bill, reinforcing the perception of a rubber-stamp Senate.
“Does it say it’s a Presidential Bill or is it supposed to be a Presidential Bill? When you say it’s an Executive Bill and you don’t have the buy-in of the Executive of the State, is it complete? That is where the problem lies. We’ve been doing this to the point that they now call us a rubber stamp,” Ndume said.