Featured
Amaechi Woos APC Delegates in Abuja, Says ‘I will treat you like a State
…Says, Ministers will know their portfolios before screening
Joel Ajayi
Former Minister of Transportation and Presidential Aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Rt Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has assured delegates of the Party in the Federal Capital Territory of better representation if they support him to clinch the Party’s presidential ticket and proceed to win the general elections in 2023.
Amaechi gave the assurance during his consultative meeting with delegates of the APC in Abuja, Tuesday night, adding that there would be equal representation between men and women, while Ministers will know their portfolios ahead of their screening and would be screened based on that.
“If you elect me as your president, ministers will know their portfolio before they get to the National Assembly, so that when the National Assembly is interviewing a Minister, they’ll interview the Minister to know their capacity, to see how qualified he is to be minister for Transport, for instance. So that when they are asked questions, it will border on how they can tackle challenges in those sectors.”
He added that Ministers from the 36 States and the FCT will be appointed by their people after stakeholders’ meetings to nominate at least three names from their States. This he noted is to ensure transparency and accountability.
“Where you give us two females, there must be one man. Where you give us two men, there must be one woman, preferably, one man, one woman and one youth. When they bring those names, the leadership of the Party at the National level will sit and choose one out of the three. The only ones I will be privileged to appoint would be the extras.”
For the people of the FCT who tend to feel marginalized by their status as a territory and not a State, Amaechi said, “I will treat you like a State, but you must give me the power to treat you like a State by voting for me. If given the chance, the FCT Minister will be from FCT.
“All of us will participate collectively. So that if we fail or succeed, all of us will be participants in either the failure or the success, but I can assure you we won’t fail, because I’ve never failed. As Speaker, as Governor, as Minister, you can see the railways.”
For safety on the rail lines, he said before he resigned as Minister, “We have put security in place so that those who will travel as soon as they (NRC) resumes (train service on Abuja-Kaduna rail line) on the 23rd will not have challenges. We have agreed with the Air Force that they will over-fly the trains so that anybody they see trying to compromise the tracks, they will shoot. People who have no business being on the track should stay away, because if they see anything suspicious, they will shoot.”
Responding, leader of the APC in the FCT, Sen. Isa Maina said, “your pedigree is intimidating. By God’s grace you’ll be President two times. Your very intimidating entourage speak volumes. We’ve had other aspirants come to speak to us and no one has come with such delegation.
“We trust your word that the FCT will be treated as a State. I urge all of us (delegates) to give him (Amaechi) the support because I know he does not lie. I know you’re very capable, you are a man of your words,” he said.
Amaechi was accompanied by high profile dignitaries and associates, including former Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen. Yusuf Tukur Buratai, former Inspector General of Police, Suleiman Abba, Senators, among 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.
-
Featured6 years ago
Lampard Names New Chelsea Manager
-
Featured5 years ago
FG To Extends Lockdown In FCT, Lagos Ogun states For 7days
-
Featured6 years ago
NYSC Dismisses Report Of DG’s Plan To Islamize Benue Orientation Camp
-
Featured5 years ago
Children Custody: Court Adjourns Mike Ezuruonye, Wife’s Case To April 7
-
Featured3 years ago
Transfer Saga: How Mikel Obi Refused to compensate me After I Linked Him Worth $4m Deal In Kuwait SC – Okafor
-
Sports2 years ago
TINUBU LAMBAST DELE MOMODU
-
News3 months ago
Zulu to Super Eagles B team, President Tinubu is happy with you
-
Featured5 years ago
Board urges FG to establish one-stop rehabilitation centres in 6 geopolitical zones