Featured
BSTAN GROUP Unveils 4 Brand Ambassadors, Launches Affordable Offers

…Says Quality Control, Solution to Building Collapse In Nigeria
Joel Ajayi
As part of its determination to ensure an affordable houses for all Nigerians, the BSTAN Group weekend announced its 4 new individuals personality as brand Ambassadors, just as it launched affordable homes package offers for children, Artisans, less privileges and well as high class citizens in the country.
Four brand ambassadors were unveiled to BSTAN GROUP include; Onwunarugu Joseph, Dennis Nwoje, Osazee Aikhionbare and Chimamanda Chieloyim the kids legacy.

This even as BSTAN GROUP identified quality control as a panacea to reduce the incidences of Building Collapse in the country.
The President, BSTAN GROUP, Dr. Becky Olubukola while speaking in Abuja on Friday at the signing of four new brand Ambassadors for BSTAN GROUP noted 75% Nigerian can’t afford luxury because of the state of the nation adding that BSTAN is available to give home to all classes of people in the society with avoidable price.

Speaking on the importance of the of unveiling of brand ambassadors, Dr. Becky said its part of company’s vision to spread the good news of shelter as part of basic need for life, we have Ambassadors who are part of us every year to promote our business and to spread the good news of shelter.
“And part of it is what we did today, having signed for new brand Ambassador for BSTAN group today.”
According to her the quality control, regulations and right orientation for the public will reduce incidences of building collapses and housing deficit in the country.


“The regulatory agencies in the building and construction industry must ensure regulations and enforce sanctions to defaulters.
“For me it is about quality control, building what people can live in while thinking about yourself, the COREN and other regulatory agencies should come out with regulations that can stop the deficit in housing and collapse of structures”.
Dr Olubukola further stated that people should be orientated and be abreast of information in building and construction so as not to fall victim of building collapse.
“People should also have orientation about building, when an engineer serve you a bill, negotiate, don’t say the Bill is too high and you give a bricklayer,
“it is for both parties as far as we need to put regulation and sanctions in the industry, there is also a need for the people of Nigeria to know the right thing about good building”.
Meanwhile, She urged the new ambassadors to be of goodwill and represent the standard and quality of BSTAN GROUP brand anywhere they go.
“For our newly appointed ambassadors, we are expecting goodwill, good information, spread good news and represent the quality and standard of BSTAN GROUP brand, give out information to people on how they can afford affordable homes”.
Business
Tax Reform Bills: The Verdict of Nigerians

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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