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Surrender to State Authority Now, CSOs Tell Rebels, Criminals

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Following the arrest of the founder of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mr Nnamdi Kanu, a civil society organisation, Save Nigeria Movement has urged all those rebelling against the Nigerian state to surrender before the forces of the country gets hold of them.

The Save Nigeria Movement in a statement signed by its convener, Solomon Semaka also commended President Muhammadu Buhari for his resolve to protect the unity and territorial integrity of Nigeria.

It would be recalled that the leader of the proscribed leader of IPOB, Mr Nnamdi KANU who jumped bail was rearrested and kept in custody.

Please read full text:

ON THE REARREST OF NNAMDI KANU AND THE POWER OF ACTIONABLE INTELLIGENCE IN SECURING NIGERIA: WE THANK YOU, MR. PRESIDENT
A STATEMENT BY SAVE NIGERIA MOVEMENT

We at Save Nigeria Movement received with great and unquantifiable joy the cheering news of the strategic rearrest of the Founder of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, Mr Nnamdi Kanu. This development is not just timely but very explanatory in according meaning to the “language” characters like Nnamdi and his cohorts will definitely understand as promised by Mr. President recently. We therefore, join the vast array of patriotic and well-meaning Nigerians to register our deepest appreciation to Mr. President for strategic move to give meaning to the presidential language which many were struggling to understand. This has equally sent out very strong signals to all criminals and enemies of Nigeria both within and outside the country that there is no longer a hiding place or safe Haven for them.

In the same vein, we wish to thank profusely the Department of State Services under the able leadership of a distinguished Nigerian, Mr. Bichi and all security agencies in Nigeria for the synergy and patriotic commitment to quell all forms of insurrections, rebellion and insurgencies so as to restore peace and order for responsible Nigerians to go about their normal and legitimate businesses without fear in the atmosphere of tranquility in pursuit of wealth creation and prosperity of our great Nation.

We want to specially commend leaders of conscience from the South Eastern Nigeria particularly and across the Nigeria generally who disassociated themselves from Nnamdi Kanu and all that he represents and seeks to pursue in his desperation to undermine the sovereignty of Nigeria. We call on all Nigerians particularly those still standing on the fence in the face of this brutal assault by the enemies of our nation to our unity and peaceful coexistence to take a firm stand on the side of truth by supporting our President and all our security agencies in their daily fight to get rid of our enemies so that law and order will reign supreme in our land.

This is also the widow of opportunity for those who have taken arms against our federation to surrender willingly and to embrace peace because there is no longer any room to tolerate any form of criminality no matter who is involved and where you are on the surface of this earth. Our security agencies in partnership with our international friends will smoke you out and speak to you in the “language” you will understand.

Once again, we are very pleased with Mr. President, DSS and all our security agencies for the renewed commitment, synergy, collaborations and mobilization of actionable intelligence and we wish to encourage them to sustain the tempo and finish the fight clinically to the glory of God (Allah) and the collective prosperity, oneness and greatness of our dear country, Nigeria.

Thanks
Solomon Semaka
Convener, Save Nigeria Movement
Solomonsemaka@gmail.com
O7033040754

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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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