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Abandoned Projects: Prosecute Culpable NDDC Officials Contractors Others-FG

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Indigenes and residents of the oil-rich Niger Delta region, as well as stakeholders and civil society organizations, have called on President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration not to stop at forensic auditing of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), but prosecute officials and contractors found culpable.

The call was made Friday during a Radio Town Hall Meeting Against Corruption, organized by Progressive Impact Organization for Community Development (PRIMORG), with the support from the MACARTHUR FOUNDATION.

It will be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari ordered the forensic audit of the troubled Commission, following massive corruption allegations since the establishment of NDDC.

According to Darlington Nwauju, a resident of the Woji community in Rivers State said the history of abandoned projects dates back from 1961 to date, urging the federal government to ensure that adequate punishment is meted out on NDDC contractors who would be found wanting.

“I believe that merely asking contractors to go back to the site will be a disservice to the people of the region.”

A Human Rights lawyer, Frank Tietie, however, blamed the rate of abandoned projects on criminal collusion by people of the region who are unfortunately running the affairs of NDDC. He said Niger Delta people have become their own enemies, while also advising the federal government to take advantage of the forensic auditing to expose corrupt individuals who are part of the years of rot in NDDC.

Earlier in the meeting, the Olu of Warri, His Majesty Ogiame Ikenwoli, through a recorded message urged President Buhari to revoke the shoreline protection project in Koko, Warri North Local Council, Delta State, saying it was shabbily executed.

His words: “This is no job at all, I feel bad that such a shoddy is done in my community. Koko is a very special place in my kingdom, there is the Nigerian Ports Authority and world-class museum here, so everybody from the whole world comes here because of the strategic location and this is the only road leading to the community.

“That was why they said to let them construct shoreline protection to protect the community but this cannot stand the test of time.

“I have seen shoreline protection but haven’t seen anything like this. This job should be terminated and a good contractor should be gotten to do a good job or should let the contractor know that this job is unacceptable.

“Tell Mr. President we appreciate and thank him for this job but it is unacceptable,” he stated.

According to Ezenwa Nwagwu, Convener of Say No Campaign, NDDC cannot boast of completing and equipping a single hospital in the region since establishment, adding that prosecution of contractors will discourage the ugly state of affairs. He charged the people of the region to get involved in projects being executed in their communities.

Umuakpo Oviemuno from Isoko North, Delta State, added that in his community, a road awarded over 10 years at an initial cost of N3.5bn has unfortunately remained uncompleted.

Activist, Orugbo Ogisaman who hails from Bayelsa State said road projects have been abandoned for over 12 years by NDDC in his community, including a shoreline protection project. “The shoreline protection has only attained 20% completion after 7 years,” Ogisaman said.

Barrister Okwong Otiotio, from Akwa Ibom State, also lent his voice to the rot in NDDC, stressing that his community was not left as uncompleted projects are littered all over the State.

The moderator of the meeting, Felix Akugha added the testaments were worrisome but unfortunately true.

The meeting which drew the attention of concerned Nigerians, civil society organisations, and journalists across the country, was supported by the MACARTHUR FOUNDATION.

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Tax Reform Bills: The Verdict of Nigerians

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Ismaila Ahmad Abdullahi Ph.D

The public hearings conducted recently by the two Chambers of the National Assembly have elicited positive responses from a broad spectrum of Nigerians, cutting across regional interest groups, government agencies, civil society groups, concerned individuals, the academia, and Labour Unions, among diverse others. Contrary to a few dissensions hitherto expressed in the media, almost all the stakeholders who spoke during the week-long sessions were unanimous in their declaration that the hallowed Chambers should pass the tax reform bills after a clean-up of the grey areas.

The public hearings were auspicious for all Nigerians desirous of economic growth and fiscal responsibility. They were also a watershed moment for the Federal Inland Revenue Service, which had been upbeat about the tax reforms. Indeed, the public hearings had rekindled hope in the tenets of democracy that guarantee freedom of expression and equitable space for cross-fertilisation of ideas. Without gainsaying the fact, the tax reform bills have been unarguably about the most thought-provoking issues in Nigeria today, drawing variegated perspectives and commentaries from even unlikely quarters such as the faith-based leaders, student bodies, and trade unions, which speaks much about the importance of the bills.

In the build-up to the public hearings, not many people believed that the bills would make it to the second reading, much less the public hearings. Even the Northern stakeholders who seemed unlikely to support the passage of the bills have softened their stance and have given valuable suggestions that would enrich the substance of the bills. The Arewa Consultative Forum came to the public hearings well-prepared with a printed booklet that addressed their concerns. It concluded with an advisory that the bills should be “Well planned, properly communicated, strategically implemented and ample dialogue and political consensus allowed for the reforms to be accepted.”

The concerns of ACF ranged from the composition of the proposed Nigeria Revenue Service Board as contained in Part 111, Section 7 of the bill, the unlimited Presidential power to exempt/wave tax payment as proposed in Section 75(1) of the bill, the family income or inheritance tax as contained in Part 1, Section 4(3) of the bill, to the issues around development levy and VAT. On the development levy, the ACF stated that unless the Federal Government is considering budgetary funding for TETFUND, NASENI and NITDA, it does not see the “wisdom behind the plan to replace (them) with NELFUND”.

The position of the North was equally reinforced by the Supreme Council for Shariah in Nigeria, Northern Elders Forum, Kano State Government, Professor Auwalu Yadudu, and the FCT Imams. Like the ACF, these stakeholders lent their respective voices to the Section on the Inheritance Tax in Part 1 of the bill and the use of the term ‘ecclesiastical’, which, in their views, undermines certain religious rights and beliefs. The Kano State Government, represented by Mahmud Sagagi, affirmed that “we support tax modernisation” but cautioned that “we must ensure that this process does not come at the expense of states’ constitutional rights and economic stability”. Professor Auwalu Yadudu, a constitutional law professor, drew attention to the use of the ‘supremacy clause’ and cautioned that the repeated use of “notwithstanding” in the bills would undermine the supremacy of the Nigerian constitution if passed as such.

Other stakeholders that made contributions at the sessions included the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas, Fiscal Responsibility Commission, Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria, Nigeria Customs Service, and a host of others. While most of their concerns bordered on technical issues requiring fine-tuning, they were unanimous in their support for the bills. They aligned with the position of the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Zacch Adedeji, Ph.D. and the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, which is that the extant tax laws and fiscal regulations are obsolete necessitating reforms aimed at creating a fair and equitable tax and fiscal space to grow Nigeria’s economy.

In one of the sessions, Dr Zaach Adedeji expounded on the criss-cross of trade activities in the Free Trade Zone whereby companies misuse tax waivers as exporters to sell their goods or services in the Customs Area at an amount usually less than the price the operators in the Customs Area who pay VAT and other taxes sell theirs thereby disrupting business transactions. This way, the operators in the Free Trade Zone shortchange the government in paying their due taxes by circumventing extant regulations, which are inimical to the economy’s growth.

Overall, the presentations were forthright, foresighted, and helpful in elucidating the issues contained in the bills. According to the statistics read out at the end of the hearings at the Senate, 75 stakeholders were invited, 65 made submissions, and 61 made presentations. At the House of Representatives 53 stakeholders made presentations. By all means, this is a fair representation. Given the presentations, it is evident that the National Assembly has gathered enough materials to guide its deliberations on the bills. As we look forward to the passage of the bills, we commend the leadership of the National Assembly for their unwavering commitment to making the bills see the light of the day.

Abdullahi is the Director of the Communications and Liaison Department, FIRS.

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