Tax Bills: PDP Chieftain Sowunmi Mentions Tinubu’s Biggest Mistake Amid Northern Opposition
- In an interview on Sunday, December 8, PDP chieftain Segun Sowunmi expressed concern over the four tax bills presented to the National Assembly
- Sowunmi blamed President Tinubu for the current pushback the bills have been getting and stated the major reason for stiff opposition from the northern region
- Legit.ng reported that the northern governors opposed the tax reform bills, noting that the proposed legislation would leave northern states and other less industrialized regions at a disadvantage
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Legit.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements.
Segun Sowunmi, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has noted that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is responsible for the stiff opposition that has greeted the tax reform bills introduced by his administration.
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Legit.ng reported that the northern governors openly rejected Tinubu's new tax reform bills, describing them as unfavourable to northern states and some southern states.
Why Tinubu's tax bills were rejected
Reacting to the development, Sowunmi, who was a guest on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, stated that the tax reform bills faced pushbacks due to perceived tribal imbalance in the appointments under Tinubu's government.
Sowunmi noted that President Tinubu created distrust among northerners by allegedly excluding their kinsmen from his economic and tax teams.
The PDP chieftain stated thus:
“You can’t have FIRS chairman Yoruba, finance (minister) Yoruba, Customs (boss) Yoruba, CBN (governor) Yoruba. You can’t do that. And then suddenly, the Yoruba people came and said we have a new tax regime. They (people of other tribes) will be nervous.
“People are not in the National Assembly or the Senate not to protect the interest of their people; that’s why they are there. They are representatives of their people. That’s why the pushbacks will come.”
Speaking further, he added that there is no bill without grey areas, but Tinubu's government “caused it by itself”.
“You may mean well but let me have some of my own seated at the table to be sure that you mean well. Nobody will sit at the table and cause injury to his tribe,” he said.
The new tax bills introduced by the Tinubu administration include the Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria (Establishment) Bill, the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill, the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, and the Nigeria Tax Bill.
Read more about the tax reform bills
- Reform bills: Labour demands review of tax exemption limit for workers from Tinubu
- Tinubu's tax bills: Ex-presidential candidate tells northern govs what to do
- Tinubu's tax reform bill: Daniel Bwala names 1 thing north trying to push
Lawmaker suggests Hausa translation for tax reform bills
Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that Honourable Abejide Leke stated that the north will benefit from President Tinubu’s new tax reform bill.
In an interview, Leke stated that the opposition against the bill from the northern region was politically motivated and an attempt to influence public opinion ahead of the 2027 elections.
The Kogi lawmaker suggested that the bill should be translated into Hausa to better address concerns in the northern region, but Nigerians have reacted to his suggestion.
Proofreading by Nkem Ikeke, journalist and copy editor at Legit.ng.
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Source: Legit.ng
