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2023: Amaechi To Nasarawa Delegates, I Will Grow Agriculture, Revamp The Economy
Few weeks into the Presidential primaries of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the immediate past Minister of Transportation and a top contender in the presidential race, Rt Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has promised that he would grow the nation’s economy by revamping the agricultural sector if he wins the primary and gets elected next year.
Amaechi said one of the woes of the nation’s economy was the shift from agriculture by successive governments to service economy, promising that he would revamp the sector which would in turn help in creating wealth and employment opportunities for the masses.
The former Transportation Minister spoke at a consultative meeting with delegates of the APC in Lafia, the Nasarawa State Capital, Tuesday. Amaechi also met with the State Governor Engr. Abdullahi Sule to inform him of his plans to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari.
According to him, “I will fight to change the economy by focusing on agriculture. I will also invest in the manufacturing and productive industries because the problem of Nigeria is that we moved into the service industry and we have refused to pay attention to production. So, you see somebody producing chicken, he doesn’t have a processing factory, he doesn’t have an abatoir that will kill the chicken, process it and sell it as a finished product.”
“If you have a processing factory you will employ more hands. So, we will depend on States like Nasarawa that have very high level of practice in agriculture, and that will change the face of Nasarawa State,” Amaechi said.
He further appealed to the delegates to shun politicians with deceitful tendencies who would come to them for votes, appealing that they (delegates) should consider his (Amaechi’s) track record over the years in public service and vote for him for a better Nigeria.
“I have come to beg you to elect me because you are the most important politicians now in APC. Don’t be deceived by politicians who would come here to speak English. I have worked with two of your governors…I have the capacity to deliver. Check my work in the ministry of transportation, I delivered Abuja-Kaduna railway, I started the Kano-Kaduna railway, I started the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri railway, I completed the Warri-Itakpe railway and completed the Lagos-Ibadan railway. I changed the face of the maritime sector, so I am tested and I am trusted. All I can say to you is to go out on that day and vote for me,” Amaechi said.
Earlier at the government house, Lafia, Amaechi recounted his achievements as Rivers Governor in the area of security, noting that he would replicate the feat if elected.
Responding, Governor Abdullahi Sule who extolled the virtues of the former Minister, said, “Sir, you don’t have to sell yourself to me at all. I may know you more than you think I do. One introduction about you that was not done is the doggedness of who you are, you are a dogged fighter. You fought to emerge as the chairman of the governor’s forum, you fought to become the Rivers Governor, everything about you, you fought to get them. So, today you are fighting to be the President of Nigeria, I wish you well. The most amazing thing is the intimidating team you have been able to put together, a lot of people in your team are well known to me and one thing about our party is that we have competent aspirants and I was happy when you mentioned that even among the aspirants in the party you are the most competent,” Governor Sule said.
Amaechi also paid a brief condolence visit to the Palace of Ahmadu Al-Makura, the Sangarin Kwandere who is also the elder brother to former Governor Tanko Al-Makura.
Politicians and Associates who accompanied the former Minister include, Sen. Ayogu Eze, former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Burutai, former DG NIMASA, Dakuku Peterside, former Acting Governor of Abia, Rt Hon. Stanley Ohajuru, former Imo State Deputy Governor, Eze Madumere, former Assistant Commissioner of Police, Jonhson Oni and former Speaker, Benue State House of Assembly, Emmanuel Jime, amongst others.
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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