The South-East Caucus in the Senate has joined forces with other stakeholders in the country calling for wider consultations on the controversial tax reform bills. Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (APGA, Abia South), the leader of the caucus, made this known yesterday after a closed-door meeting of senators from the southeast region, held in his office at the National Assembly complex in Abuja.
Abaribe explained that though lawmakers from his zone were not against the bill in anyway, but require a wider consultation before they can take action.
He said, “As much as the entire senators from the South-east are not against the tax reform bills before both chambers of the National Assembly, we want wider consultations to be carried out on them.
“Specifically, we need to consult with our constituents across the 15 senatorial districts in the zone with our state governments and other critical stakeholders.
“We have read through the bills and want to share our knowledge with other stakeholders from the South-east zone for a much more equitable framework in the bills that would eventually be passed. We are not against the bills but need to consult with our people”, he stressed.
Recall 16 senators from the South-south have last week said they were committed to working collaboratively with senators from the North and other stakeholders in fostering a legislative agenda that guarantees the peace, prosperity, and progress of the country.
In a communiqué signed by their Chairman, Senator Seriake Dickson and Senator Jarigbe A. Jarigbe, (Secretary) after their meeting on Wednesday, the senators backed the tax reform bills.
The communiqué read in part: “Recognising 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”, it said.
In a similar manner, their counterparts from the north have called for suspension of the bill until wider consultation is made before they will take a stand.
The northern senators expressed reservation that the bill if passed hurriedly could have a diverse effect on the region.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives had earlier announced suspension of debate on the bills due to public outcry and resistance from some northern lawmakers.
Senator Buba Umaru Shehu, All Progressives Congress (APC) Bauchi State, who spoke on behalf of the northern senators’ after their meeting said in an interview with the BBC Hausa Service, northern senators from both the ruling APC and the opposition parties have agreed on the need to suspend action on the proposals.
‘Tax bills attempt to usurp RMAFC responsibilities’
In a related development, it was learned that the tax reform bills are trying to usurp the powers of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC).
The document sighted by Dailytrust said the RMAFC is the institution with the constitutional mandate to produce formula for sharing revenues, including Value Added Tax (VAT), adding that any deviation from this constitutionally backed process is both inappropriate and unconstitutional.
The document said RMAFC’s Chairman, Dr. Mohammed Bello Shehu, made the disclosure in a memorandum to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio and the Speaker of the House of Representative, Abbas Tajudeen.
In the memo to the parliament, the RMAFC said: “The Constitution, being supreme, does not envisage that any other Act of Parliament such as the VAT Act could assume this responsibility.
“Any such attempt would contravene the Constitution. Therefore, the RMAFC remains the sole arbiter in producing allocation formula that is fair, just, and equitable for the three tiers of Government. Any deviation from a formula crafted by the RMAFC risks violating constitutional provisions and undermining the Commission’s role as the impartial arbiter of revenue allocation in Nigeria”, it said. Dailytrust.
