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Efforts ongoing to deliver 4 football pitches soon – Sunday Dare

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Efforts ongoing to deliver 4 football pitches soon – Sunday Dare
The Minister of Youth and Sports Development Mr. Sunday Dare has intimated the public of some of his plans for the Youth and Sports sector this year.
In a series of tweets in the early hours of the first day of 2020, the Minister outlined some of the plans of the Ministry to ensure Sports and the Youth of Nigeria are taken to the next level in line with the agenda of the Buhari administration.
“Talks are ongoing concerning the renovation of the Obafemi Awolowo stadium, formerly, Liberty Stadium with government and a few private individuals. Our goal is to deliver four FiFA standard pitches by the first quarter of 2020 by God’s Grace,” he wrote.
“Our short term Sports Development Plan for the next 2 years gradually unfolds. It is focused on Infrastructure, Athletes Welfare, Grassroot Sports and Sports as a viable business. Abuja Stadium is on its way back, National Stadium Lagos is set for concession not forgetting the Ahmadu Bello Stadium,” he added.
The Minister also disclosed that talks are ongoing for the renovation of the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium with government and a few private individuals.
“Our goal, he wrote, is to deliver four FIFA standard pitches by the first quarter of 2020 by God’s Grace.
“The ministry will in 2020 monitor and ensure the completion of about 20 mini-stadiums across the country.  The Imo-model of one mini-Stadium per Local government by each state will be marketed.
On plans for the teeming Nigerian youth, the Minister wrote, “the government will provide and open up more opportunities for employment, entrepreneurship and skills acquisition working with strategic implementation partners. In this regard, this government is in a hurry to ratchet up the numbers of engaged Youth.
The Minister promised to do all within the Ministry’s powers to ensure that the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in Japan counts for Nigeria and Nigerians.  “Our athletes will be exposed to the best training, competitions and camping possible. The process is already ongoing- and will be sustained.”
On plans  to boost grassroots sports development, the Minister hinted that the Headmasters’ Cup for primary Schools and Principals Cup are making  comeback, along  with a new Talent Hunt Program, THP, which he said is being finalized.
 “Adoption Initiative is birthed and the policy to turn sports into business are being pursued among other things.”
He further assured of the Federal Government’s commitment towards increasing the level of investment in the youth as the slew of new youth engagements unfold and the previous ones are strengthened and consolidated through partnership with other Ministries, Departments and Agencies.
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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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