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Nasarawa Pre-election Matters: Court Nolifies Nasarawa West APC Primary Election,Gives 14 days For Fresh Election

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By David Christopher, Lafia

The Federal High Court sitting in Lafia, Nasarawa State has notified  the primary election of the All Progressive Congress APC for Nasarawa West Senatorial district between Barr. Labaran Shuibu Magajii and Architect Shehu Tukur which was held on the 4th June 2022 and two weeks from the day of Judgment was given for a fresh election to be conducted.


The presiding judge,Justice Nehizine Idomudia Afolabi who passed the judgment on Wednesday said the election was nolified based on the fact before the court, that genuine delegates that were suppose to vote were disenfranchised by some illegal delegates from Keffi and Nasarawa Local Government Areas respectively.


On their part while briefing newsmen immediately after the judgment counsels to both the plaintiff and defendant Barr. Gali Umar Ahmed and Dr. Mubarak Adekilekun said they were satisfied with the judgment, adding that they would go back and seat with their clients to know the next steps of actions to be taken as wether to abide by the judgment or proceed to the court of appeal.


“The decision of my Lord,I think is fair to both the parties, but we will consider it and see if we are going upstairs. The court considered the delegates that were suppose to vote on the 4th,June 2022 at the said primary election.


“And the court came to conclusion that it was those original delegates on exibit D1 and D2 that are proper delegates who are supposed to vote on that day and having not vote they are being disenfranchised and also the court considered that having been disenfranchised by the party itself the said election is nolified entirely” Barr. Ahmed said
While,Dr. Adekilekun said, ” Primary election for Nasarawa West held on the said date was nolified and the party APC was given 14 days to conduct a fresh election, that is the decision of the court, but you know in law there are different layers of courts to make an appeal if necessary. So either of the party involved in the matter is free to say the want to appeal. As  lawyers were we were not suppressed with the judgment, because we have the right to appeal”.


Also speaking to newsmen the the plaintiff Barr. Labaran Shuibu Magajii described the judgment as as a victory for the commoners, adding that when they compliant to the court of unknown delegates voted during the said election some people thought that the were westing their time.


” You can see when we are laying claims that there unknown delegates people thought we were westing our time, but now through the judiciary pronouncement of unknown delegates were exposed today. So am one of the most happiest person today because the judgment went on the side of the commoners” he stressed.


AljazirahNigeria revealed that Magaji had  dragged the party and the supposed  winner of the said election Architect Shehu Tukur as well as ten others to court over alleged  abormalities during the said primary election.


Efforts to reach Architect Shehu Tukur the defendant before going to press proved abortive as he was not available in court and didn’t pick calls put to him.


It will be recalled that the said Nasarawa West Senatorial district was being occupied by Senator Abdullahii Adamu before he became the APC national chairman and since then the seat has been vacant.

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Tax Reform Bills: The Verdict of Nigerians

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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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