Connect with us

Featured

Military Remains Forefront At Tackling Insecurity-CDS

Published

on

Joel Ajayi 
The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Lucky Irabor has said that the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN), remains at the forefront in tackling the myriad of security threats confronting the nation.  


In Statement issued on Wednesday by  Director Defence Information Major General Benjamin Olufemi Sawyerr have that Gen Irabor stated this at the Chief of Defence Staff Interactive Session with Retired Senior Military Officers in the North Central Geopolitical zone, held on Wednesday 18 August 2021 at the Headquarters Tactical Air Command (TAC), Nigerian Air Force, Makurdi, Benue state.


According to the CDS, “the military as an institution remains at the forefront of leading the war against every form of criminalities as the Constitution avails the AFN the mandate of supporting civil authorities which in this case is championed by the Nigeria Police.” 


Gen Irabor noted that the one-day security parley is in continuation of the nation-wide consultation and engagements with military veterans towards proffering lasting solutions to the security challenges in the country. 


The CDS while admitting the wave of insecurity in the North Central (NC), occasioned by farmers/herders and communal clashes, said the ongoing military engagement is crucial, as such require the inputs of its veterans towards sustainable peace and progress.


He urged the senior citizens whom he described as military officers even in retirement to be open minded in proffering suggestions to the security threats, promising that there would be interventions in the security dispositions in the NC and the entire nation.


In his remarks, the Chief of Defence Civil Military Cooperation (CDCIMIC), Rear Admiral Fredrick Ogu said the CDS security parley with retired senior military across the six geopolitical zones is to identify the threats in terms of its intensity and peculiarities with a view to addressing the challenges. 


The CDCIMIC recalled that the maiden edition of the CDS security parley held in the South West zone, while the second and third editions took place in the North West and South East geopolitical zones.   

The Air Officer Commanding (AOC), Tactical Air Command (TAC), Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Idi Lubo who acknowledged the critical roles being played by military veterans in the defence and security sectors, was optimistic that critical issues bothering on intelligence gathering, information sharing and security management would dominate discussion during the close door session.  


The AOC expressed the commitment of the Command in sustaining the ongoing synergy with sister Services and other security agencies towards ensuring peace and stability in the NC, noting that the AFN is leveraging on the support and goodwill of the people in tackling security challenges in the region. 


AVM Lubo enumerated the air operations which the Command is actively participating in the various theatres, including Operation HANDIN KAI in the North East, Operation DELTA SAFE in the South South, Operation HADARIN DAJI in the North West, as well as Operation WHIRL STROKE and SAFE HAVEN in the NC. 


He further attributed the recent successes being achieved in the theatres to the collaborative efforts among the various security outfits. This, he said, is in line with the CDS Leadership focus of fostering a professional Armed Forces capable of effectively meeting constitutional imperatives. 

Continue Reading

Business

Tax Reform Bills: The Verdict of Nigerians

Published

on

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.

Continue Reading

Trending

error

Enjoy this blog? Please spread the word :)