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Okowa Assures Better Day Ahead Of AFN

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…Promises to re-unites Stakeholders

Joel Ajayi

In the aftermath of World Athletics (WA) recognising Tonobok Okowa as the President of Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), the Delta state – born sports administrator said the new AFN Board will be working fervently to ensure a better day for the Athletic in the country and beyond.

He promised that his led AFN board would produce more podium finish athletes for the country.

He made this promise shortly after the reception for the victorious team from the just concluded U-20 world Athletics Championship in Nairobi, Kenya was welcomed by the government on Tuesday in Abuja.

Following their exploits at the just concluded 8 World Athletics U-20 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya had a total of 7 medals; four (4) gold and three (3) bronze medals to finish third on the final medals table.

The heroic reception and the launch organised for the athletes attended by the Minister of Women Affairs Dame Pauline Tallen, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development Hajia Sadiya Umar – Farouk, Minister of State for Education Chief Emeka Nwajiuba, S A to the President on Sports Daniel Amokachi.

Okowa, heaped encomiums on the athletes whom he described as the future golden generation for demonstrating the true character and never say die spirit Nigeria is renowned.

While addressing journalists, the Chairman of Delta State Sports Commission expressed that, the federation will not leave any stone unturned, to ensure that athletes win more medals for the country.

He also, promised to reach out to the other factional leaders to chart a way forward for Athletics in Nigeria.

“It is good to know that the World Athletics has spoken out. I see myself as the authentic President of AFN. I will reach out to them. I will not fight anybody,” Okowa

“I’ve never had any issue with them on a personal ground. I only contested an election and I won. Whatever that happened in the past is in the past. It is not for me to dwell on,” he added.

“My prayer is that they would want to really get close. I will plead with them as much as possible for us to sit down and find a way forward,” he said

He assured that the athletes would be kept together while early preparations for meets and the Commonwealth Games in the United Kingdom next year had been ingrained in the federation’s calendar.

Okowa reaffirmed the commitment of his board to revive athletics that was adjudged comatose before now but pleaded for time and prayers from sports loving Nigeria to achieve the AFN’s objectives.

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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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