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House of Reps Leadership: 60 Reps back Gbajabiamila/Wase ticket

The Gbajabiamila/Wase Speakership/Deputy Speakership ticket got a boost Thursday as a group of returning and newly elected House of Representatives members called the ‘9th Assembly Progressives’ adopted Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila as Speaker and Hon. Ahmed Idris Wase as Deputy Speaker of the 9th House of Representatives respectively.
According to the group led by , Hon. Oluwole Oke (Obokun/Oriade Federal Constituency, Osun State), who is a ranking member of the House, comprises of non – APC Members and Members – Elect and have large spread among the minority parties, various geopolitical zones and different gender lines.
A statement issued by the group Thursday states that the endorsement of Gbajabiamila and Wase was stimulated by a number of reasons:
“First, in mature democracies with entrenched legislative traditions, the moment there is a leadership vacuum, the leader of a Majority Party in the legislature automatically assumes Headship of that House. Examples abound, including, the recent Speakership of Nancy Pelosi.
For this reason and in order for us to deepen the progressive values in the National Assembly we, the 9th Assembly Progressives, have adopted the joint ticket of Hon. Femi/Hon. Wase in the Speakership race.
“Second, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, who doubles as the Leader of Hon. Femi’s Party, has nominated him for the Speakership position. Deeming him as a man that will foster peace, unity and prosperity throughout the 9th Assembly.
“Endorsing and voting for him is therefore an endorsement and vote for a smooth and productive working relationship between the Executive and the Legislature in the new Government.
“Third, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila is the most experienced and prepared candidate in the current Speakership race. Hon. Femi has been a Member of the House since 2003 and has played a pivotal role in creating the right legislative culture, values and practice which now characterize the Legislative Arm of Government. His commitment to the defence of democratic values is glaring and he has been consistent in his views, values and votes, which is the hallmark of a true Parliamentarian.
“Fourth, since becoming a Member in 2003, Hon. Femi has sponsored some of the most critical bills that have been debated on the floor of the House of Representatives. Some of his Bills were pivotal and contributed to the amendment of the 1999 Constitution”.
The statement further reads that Gbajabiamila’s innate brilliance “shows in the quality of Bills and Motions he has sponsored in the House and his contribution to debates is passionate, deep, insightful and always logical. He has vast understanding of the Rules of the House and is a Master in Legislative Proceedings.
“Hon. Femi commands the respect of the Members of the House. In 2015, he was overwhelmingly elected as the Leader of the House and he gave support to the current House leadership for the entire term of the 8th Assembly. He has also contributed immensely to making legislative work easy. A notable contribution he made is the printing and distribution of the Rules of the House free of charge to all Members of the 8th Assembly.
“We the 9th Assembly Progressives believe that now is the God ordained time for Hon. Femi and we must join our hands with the voice of the People, which is the voice of God.
“We the undersigned Members-Elect and Returning Members of the 9th Assembly Progressives hereby adopt Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila as Speaker and Hon. Ahmed Idris Wase as Deputy Speaker of the 9th House of Representatives,” the group added in the statement.
The Progressives, who said they currently have sixty lawmakers as members, also urged other colleagues in the 9th House to ensure the election of their preferred candidates for speaker and deputy come June 11.
The Nation.
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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