- The bill, which has passed the second reading at the Senate, is facing vehement pushback from different quarters, especially from elites in Northern Nigeria.
The opposition of northern governors to the proposed Tax Reform Bill is due to their inability to do the real and hard work required for impactful and people-oriented governance, Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi has said.
Shinkafi, the Executive Director of Patriots for Advancement of Peace and Social Development, described the governors as lazy.
The bill, which has passed the second reading at the Senate, is facing vehement pushback from different quarters, especially from elites in Northern Nigeria.
Notable northern groups and figures like The Northern Governors Forum, the Northern Elders Forum, the National Economic Council, and Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume, among others, have publicly voiced their opposition to the bill and demanded its withdraw.
According to them, the provisions of the bill do not reflect the region’s interests and would only worsen the poverty, underdevelopment and other socio-economic challenges the region is already grappling with.
Speaking during an interview with Arise TV on Monday, Shinkafi stated that the governors are unwilling to develop strategies to generate internal revenue.
According to him, the governors who are claiming that the tax bills will increase hardship in the northern part of the country “are responsible for the failure of the economy, chronic insecurity, unemployment, poverty, and educational backwardness in the northern region.”
Shinkafi strongly defended the contentious tax reform bills amidst criticisms, particularly from northern governors, describing the opposition as politically motivated and based on misinformation.
Shinkafi also said “the attack by the Northern Youth Assembly is uncalled for,” stressing that the Deputy Senate President, who presided over the proceedings, was fulfilling his constitutional duties
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