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ENUGU WEST PDP DELEGATES ROOT FOR FIDELIA AKUABATA NJEZE, SAY SHE IS THE ONLY ASPIRANT WITH THE REQUISITE POLITICAL CAPACITY TO REPRESENT THE ZONE

Published

3 years ago

May 18, 2022

Jeff Ejiofor and Chinedu Udeani Enugu.

In furtherance of her wide range consultation across Enugu State, a frontline senatorial hopeful for Enugu West Zone, Ambassador Fidelia Akuabata Njeze has organised separate parleys with party delegates from the five local government areas that make up the zone to seek their support in the forthcoming PDP primaries. At different locations in Enugu metropolis, delegates comprised of top PDP hierarchy in the various local governments pledged their unalloyed support to her ambition, and consequently declared that she remains the only aspirant with the requisite political capacity to represent Enugu West in the senate at this defining moment in view of the political clout of their outgoing senator.

The delegates received the former minister and eulogised her practical demonstration of capacity in her previous political assignments.They commended her political dexterity which they believe will be replicated if she is given the opportunity to represent them at the upper legislative chambers. Although their leaders made it clear that the governor of the state, Rt Hon Dr Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi reserves the right of choice as regards where their support will go, they maintained that Njeze is the best to replace a big masquerade like Ekweremadu who has held various principle positions in the senate including deputy president for twelve consecutive years.

They argued that none of those greenhorns parading themselves as aspirants in Enugu West today can effectively manage the office because they have no formal experience of national politics.

To accomplish the onerous task, they promised to fervently pray so that the Almighty God will touch the heart of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and guide him properly to look in her direction.

Their leaders, and PDP chairmen of the local governments, in their separate speeches, recalled how Ambassador Akuabata Njeze, popularly known as Nnediulu, fearlessly demonstrated unblemished capacity as a three time minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the past.

They testified how she, through resilient stewardship, changed the narratives in all the ministries she headed as both minister of state and a full cabinet minister. They also spoke about her kind and large heart which they said contributed immensely to her receiving the revered title of Nnediulu. Njeze was described as an epitome of a good mother who sees her children’s well-being as a top priority and this, they said, signifies the characteristics of quality representation. They also declared that apart from being the most qualified for the job, she is the only aspirant whose family ties cut across the two federal constituencies of Enugu West Senatorial District.

A situation that makes her the most acceptable in the entire zone. It will be recalled that Njeze who hails from Udi LGA, in addition to having a paternal grandmother in Ihe, is equally an inlaw to Agbogugu people in Awgu Local Government Area where her elder sister was married to. Speaker after speaker in the events extolled Njeze’s⁷ virtues as a woman of valour who never shies away from her responsibility to her people whenever she occupies any position.

Elated Ambassador Njeze while acknowledging the overwhelming support of the delegates in her separate speeches, promised to make Enugu West Zone proud with her wide national and international connections.

She echoed their remarks that Enugu West having produced deputy senate president for twelve uninterrupted years cannot afford to allow amature political rope learners to represent them and diminish their status at the national assembly. She maintained that as a former minister and ambassador of the federal republic of Nigeria, she knows how to effectively navigate her ways in the senate and provide quality representation for Ndi Enugu West. She however quickly admonished them to continue praying for the executive governor of Enugu State, Rt Hon Dr Ifeanyi Lawrence Ugwuanyi who she said is a peaceful man and deserves God’s mercy and guidance at all times. She commended his wonderful works in Enugu State and appealed to God Almighty to grant him the wisdom to take the right decisions at this critical moment of our political life.

Continuing, Ambassador Njeze made it clear that under her watch as a senator, Enugu West can never be shortchanged, because according to her, most of the influential political leaders in Nigeria today are her personal friends, hence, it will not be difficult to present her case before then. She further promised to run an open door policy where all her constituents will be carried along in the scheme of things and given a holistic sense of belonging. She said the door of her office will always be open to suggestions from the general public and will not discriminate against anybody.

Explaining further why she is the right person for the job, Nnediulu, as she is fondly called, recalled how she facilitated the actualization of the first international airport in Igbo land. She also revealed how she changed the narrative and reinstated former Biafran soldiers who were dismissed for their roles in the civil war, saying that that singular action gave a lifeline to the surviving war veterans who were totally forgotten before the advent of the policy. She revealed how she restored the dignity of the Nigerian man in faraway Switzerland as an ambassador by securing a befitting accommodation for the country, thereby ending low self esteem of Nigerian officials in that country.

As a minister of agriculture, she influenced the establishment of Songhai farms in two local government areas of Enugu State, Oji-River and Uzo-Uwani respectively. She further promised to raise the bar if given the opportunity to go to the red chambers, and assured the people of Enugu West that as a woman, she will never disapoint or take their support for granted.

Having gone through the pains of child bearing as a woman, Ambassador Njeze said her good grasp and wealth of experience on family issues will be brought to bear on the larger society.

Still on her achievements in various political appointments, Nnediulu said she was the person that spearheaded the completion of total radar coverage of Nigeria’s airspace, and the employment of over 80 percent of the current workforce at Enugu international airport. She stated that she was instrumental to direct flight operations from Nigeria to the United States of America, a feat that was impossible before her appointment as aviation minister.

As the chairman of governing board of Enugu State College of Education Technical, Njeze transformed the school and ensured its full accreditation and graduation of students. She also provided the enabling political reach and will to transform it into a university of education with a permanent site at Ihe, Awgu LGA.

Concluding, she averred that the exploits she did in her previous political assignments are too numerous to mention, but declared that if she could achieve all that with lesser political opportunities, she will certainly do greater exploits when provided with a bigger platform such as the senate, and Ndi Enugu West will be the ultimate beneficiaries. She advised them to remain steadfast in their resolve to ensuring that the right thing is done for the benefit and future of Enugu West Senatorial Zone, with an assurance that a vote for Fidelia Akuabata Njeze is a vote for the progress and liberation of Enugu West people.

Enugu is in the hands of God

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Business

Tax Reform Bills: The Verdict of Nigerians

Published

2 weeks ago

March 6, 2025

The Gleamer

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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