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Africa Day: Solution To Africa’s Food Sufficiency, Development Abound Within Continent, Princess Akobundu, AUDA-NEPAD Boss

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Joel Ajayi

For African continent to achieve food sufficiency and standard development as envisioned by the founding fathers of African Unity,  it behooves on every nation to develop  policies and programmes, capable of harnessing its abundant resources and synchronise them with Continental Agendas as exemplified by the Nigerian Government, says Princess Gloria Akobundu fsi,  National Coordinator/Chief Executive Officer, African Union Development Agency- New Partnership for Africa’s Development  African Peer Review Mechanism (AUDA-NEPAD/APRM) Nigeria.

In a statement signed by Media Assistant to National Coordinator/CEO, 

AUDA-NEPAD/APRM Nigeria, Abolade Ogundimu as Nigeria join Africa to celebrate 2022 Africa Day, a day set aside by the United Nations to celebrate the establishment of the Organization of African Union (O.A.U.) on same date in 1963, as O.A.U later transformed to African Union in 1994.

The theme of the 2022 Africa Day is ‘Strengthening Resilience in Nutrition and Food Security on the African Continent’.

According to the Agency’s Boss, the theme is apt as the entire world battles for food security due to effects of COVID-19 pandemic on food security and other hindrances on food sufficiency. 

“President Muhammadu Buhari-led Government has proven Nigeria’s commitment to conceive and implement developmental policies that are in tandem with Continental programmes and growth plan. 

“Africa is a continent that is endowed with abundant human and mineral resources, therefore, every effort to harness them should be of interest to every nation for Continental growth. 

“As an Agency that is mandated to ensure domestication of African Union developmental programmes, AUDA-NEPAD Nigeria has enjoyed great commitment and support from the administration of President Buhari.

“The successful launching of AUDA-NEPAD Initiative to strengthen Smallholder Farmers capabilities Towards Productive Land Restoration amid COVID-19 Pandemic’, and the successful Second Peer Review of  Nigeria in the four thematic areas of APRM among others have strengthened Nigeria’s commitment,” she said.

It will be recalled that Nigeria’s Country Review Report (CRR) was unanimously approved by Heads of State and Government Orientation Committee at the 35th African Union Ordinary Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 4th February, 2022.

The CRR approval has led to the ongoing drafting and harmonisation of the National Programme of Action (NPoA) which will be launched upon its completion by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The APRM xrays four thematic areas namely: Economic Governance and Management (EGM); Socio-Economic Development (SED); Corporate Governance and; Political Governance and Management (DPG).

African Union   has further renewed its commitment to Continental growth through the introduction of Agenda – 2063  ‘Africa We Want ‘, and Nigeria is at the forefront in championing African cause at global fora through various strategic engagements including AUDA-NEPAD organised special side events at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA)  since 2018.

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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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