Featured
Fight Against Divisive Forces, Dr. Sami Urges Nigerian Youths

At a time when the unity and peace of Nigeria is threatened by secessionists, terrorists, bandits and other criminal elements, Nigerian youths have been charged to fight against such forces that affect the development of the country.
The National Patron of the National Youth Congress of Nigeria (NYCN), Dr. Sami Charles gave the charge in a broadcast beamed at the gathering of youths for a National Leadership, Economic and Security Summit in Abuja to discuss ways of combating insecurity and fostering the nation’s peace and unity.
Sami explained that the foundation of Nigeria was built by the efforts of the youths and urged the present day youth not to allow negative forces derail the unity, peace and progress of the nation.
“The Nigerian youth is the foundation of the Nigeria of the past , present and future. In the anal of history, The Nigerian youth movement led by Herbert Macaulay, Nnamdi Azikiwe and other youth movements led by Obafemi Awolowo, Joseph Tarka, Mallam Aminu Kano and Ahmadu Bello all led and fought for today’s independent Nigeria. The role of the Nigerian youth can not be over emphasized. There is no Nigeria without the Nigerian youths and there will be no future Nigeria, without the Nigerian youth.
“You must understand your role and place in nation building. No nation can be at peace without the involvement of its youths for you hold the torch of peace and the bullet of war. Our nation Nigeria is in trial from different fronts, in unity, religious bigotry, political instability and most disturbing, the high level of insecurity.
“We as youths must rise to defend the essence and principles on which our nation was founded . We must not be a party to those who wish to create instability and destruction to our nation. We must stand and fight against all forces that threatens the peaceful existence of our people and must remain committed to the principles of unity in diversity and tolerance of each other irrespective of our differences.
“I urge and encourage you all towards the emancipation of our nation-Nigeria into her true greatness remembering the fact that every Nigerian from all parts of our nation is a stakeholder and has something to contribute. No Nigerian is superior to the other! Rise up the great Nigerian youth and join hands towards the laying of a new foundation for our nation”, Dr. Sami stated.
While pledging to sponsor workshops that would drive the foundation for a new Nigeria for economic empowerment of the youths with programmes to aid and facilitate economic livelihood, Sami urged youths to continue to embrace dialogues against violence in the pursuit of their goals.
The event which was attended by representatives of various youth organisations across the country including State Chairmen of the NYCN also had Civil Society Organisations, Non-governmental Organisations, government representatives, the clergy amongst others.
High point of the event was the signing of a Peace Pact for National Unity by youths from all geo-political regions, with a resolve to partner with the government in protecting the sanctity and sovereignty of Nigeria.
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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