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Obaseki’s re-run project: Chairman charges co-ordinators to work with state representatives
Albert Akota
The Chairman of the Godwin Obaseki re-run project, Chief Nathaniel Momoh has charged the eighteen LGA Co-ordinators here in Abuja to work in harmony with state local government co-ordinators and ward officials at home for the return of Godwin Obaseki in the forthcoming Edo state gubernatorial election.
Momoh who stated this during the maiden meeting of the Zonal Co-ordinators and the eighteen LGA co-ordinators at it’s secretariat in Guzape District of Abuja, said the event was called to map out strategies, intimate co-ordinators, zonal co-ordinators, stakeholders as well set up various committees that will carry out necessary plans for Godwin Obaseki re-run project.
He said co-ordinators will be mobilise to Edo state to work with state local government co-ordinators and ward officials at the grassroot level to achieve the primary aims and objectives of the governor’s mandate.
He said Obaseki has performed beautifully well in his first tenure as governor of Edo State and we need to all come together to work for his re-election by mobilising Edo sons and daughters resident in Abuja and in the State with strategies and structures without confrontations.
“We must strategise and be fully on ground both in the FCT and at our various local governments at home. Our primary responsibility is to ensure that we all get Edo Sons and Daughters to vote for Governor Godwin Obaseki.
“Let’s me tell you, I might not be the best person here to lead but somebody must lead others that was what prompted me to this ideas.
“We must educate our people in the languages they will understand because the vote of our people for Obaseki must count, we will see how to help our people in relocating their voter cards to their various polling centre to have the require numbers,” Chief enthused.
Speaking earlier, Edo North Senatorial Co-ordinator who doubles as moderator of the meeting, Barr. Peter Dokpesi commended Chief Momoh for providing a befitting edifice to be use as secretariat for the project and urged the co-ordinators to liaise with their various state co-ordinators and wards officials for the re-run mandate.
Also speaking at the event, Edo Central Senatorial co-ordinator, Engr Emmanuel Obibhunun said the co-ordinators were carefully selected for the project with integrity and good characters, he implored them not to consider the position as avenue to make money but rather to serve for the development of the state as well betterment of all.
The high-light of the meeting was constitution of three Standing Committees which include, media and publicity committee; contact and mobilisation committee; research and development committee.
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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