Featured
GAC Motor Becomes Official Automobile Partner Of NFF

Joel Ajayi
At a simple but telling and historic event in Lagos on Tuesday, the Nigeria Football Federation and GAC Motor signed a partnership agreement that had all the components of a groundbreaking relationship. The union confers on GAC Motor the title of Official Automobile Partner of Nigeria Football Federation.
The momentous signing ceremony at the GAC Headquarters in Victoria Island, Lagos marked the first time Nigeria’s football governing body was having a remarkable partnership with an automobile company, and both the NFF and the fastest-growing automobile company in the country were delighted with the consummation of the union.
“We are thrilled to extend our partnerships with GAC as our exclusive automobile partner,” said NFF President, Mr Amaju Melvin Pinnick, as he exchanged mementos with Chief Diana Chen, Chairman of CIG Motors (authorized distributors of GAC Motor in Africa). “This union moves us forward in our determination to become a self-funding Football Federation. We are happy to be partners with GAC because it is a fast-growing organization with a lot of qualitative and farsighted persons, just like the NFF. After our long and hard deliberations, NFF is convinced that GAC is our ideal partner, because of its long-standing history of premium partnerships and support tied to youth development in Nigeria.
“With its involvement in the Lagos City Marathon, Asaba Marathon, the AMVCA, The Voice and much more, this partnership is a pivotal step towards deepening an already-existing relationship between the brand and the sports industry.”
In her own remarks, Chief Chen said: “Football has always been a reckoning power for uniting all interests and differences of Nigerians, over time, bringing together the old and the young from all walks of life – united in the spirit of true sportsmanship that knows no tribe, gender or religion. Football will always have a special place in the hearts of Nigerians because of the pride and sense of honour that it brings, and the spirit of unity that it fosters, and these matters to us too as a company operating in this country.
“Our company and Nigeria football share the vision of a great future.”
It is a three –year agreement in the first instance, but Pinnick said: “It is renewable and we believe that we are in this relationship for the long haul.” GAC Motor, which has been operating in Nigeria since 2014, has been at the forefront of championing the cause for the sports and entertainment industries, providing opportunities and supporting the dreams of Nigerians.
Deputy Chairman of the House of Reps’ Committee on Sports, Hon. Afolabi Olalekan Rasheed, reiterated that football is big business globally and it was important that big business continues to get very much involved with the game in Nigeria, and hailed GAC Motor for the gesture to Nigeria football, describing football as the greatest unifying factor in the country. Jubril Arogundade, General Manager (Commerical) of CIG Motors said the company was proud of the partnership as sports partnership was a culture of the company.
As part of the terms of the agreement, GAC Motor will present official cars to the President of NFF, General Secretary, the National Technical Director and the Super Eagles’ Technical Adviser, as well as a fully –equipped ambulance and a mini-bus in the first instance.
Also present at the ceremony were 1st Vice President of the NFF, Barrister Seyi Akinwunmi; NFF Executive Committee members Aisha Falode and Ganiyu Majekodunmi; NFF General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi; NFF Director of Communications, Ademola Olajire; NFF’s Head of Marketing, Alizor Chuks; former Nigeria international and personal assistant to NFF President, Nasiru Jibril and Miss Queen Otarakpo of the NFF Legal Unit.
Super Eagles’ players Paul Onuachu and Samuel Chukwueze also graced the occasion
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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