Tax reform bills: North is an asset, not liability to Nigeria – Ndume

Borno South senator, Ali Ndume, says the North is an asset and not a liability to Nigeria.

The assertion follows his opposition to the tax reform bills.

In a statement he released on Monday, Ndume again criticised the timing and scope of the bills, saying that they disproportionately target low- and middle-income Nigerians who are already bearing the brunt of the President Bola Tinubu administration’s economic policies.

According to him, the North was, is, and will never be a parasite or dependent on any region or even the country.

Arguing that the North is an asset and not liability to Nigeria, he stressed that those who think that the tax reforms are only against Northern interests are naive.

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He explained, “As it is, the law is against all low- and middle-income Nigerians.”

Ndume called for the withdrawal of the tax reform bills, stressing the need for broader consultations and greater stakeholder involvement and advised the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, to focus on expanding the tax net and improving accountability and transparency.

He opined, “The FIRS should concentrate on expanding the tax net and collecting more. Also, accountability and transparency should be increased.”

Ndume urged the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to scrutinise commercial banks, arguing that their substantial yearly profits warrant higher tax contributions.

He stated the importance of prioritising governance reforms over tax reforms, saying that the country’s current personnel and overhead expenditure consumes a significant portion of the budget.

The senator explained that the personnel and overhead expenditure for 2024 is about 50 to 60 percent of the budget itself, lamenting that in November, 20 percent of the budget has not been implemented as the recurrent expenditure has already been exhausted.

He alleged that over 15 to 20 trillion naira is going into personnel, debt servicing and recurrent expenditure.