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Osinbajo, Jega Others Extol NYSC’s Giant Strides @50

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…Calling on Govt. For more Fund 


Joel Ajayi


The Vice President of the federal Republic of Nigeria Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, Others has heaped huge praises on the development giant stride of the NYSC as the scheme celebrate 50 years of establishment.


It will be recall that that NYSC was established on the 22nd of May 1973 for purpose of fostering Unity, cohesion as well to to build a united indivisible, prosperous and egalitarian country by the then head of state General Yakubu Gowon.


They gave this commendations at the opening ceremony and anniversary annual lecture of the NYSC at 50 on Monday in Abuja, in the presence of hundreds of present and past stakeholders.


The anniversary has it’s theme: “5 Decades of Forstering National Unity and Development” where present and past stakeholders were gathered to celebrate the meaningful impact of the scheme to the growth of Nigeria in the last 50 years.


Vice President who was represented by the Minister of power Engr Abubarkar D. Aliyu described NYSC as an indispensable pillar to Nigeria’s unity, as the scheme celebrates its 50th anniversary.


Speaking on the theme, “NYSC Five Decades of Fostering National Unity and Development,” Osinbajo  congratulated the management staff and corps members for sustaining the purpose for the establishment of the scheme.


According to him, the story of NYSC has been that of growth and development which brought about unity and national integration.

“There’s no doubt that since its inception, NYSC has continue to play a significant role towards building indivisible nation.”
He further urged Nigerians to support the  Programme and activities of the scheme.
Also, he commended the initiator of the Scheme, General Yakubu Gowon for establishing NYSC to harness the potentials of young graduate towards national growth.

While speaking, the guest lecturer, former INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, said the scheme has been providing opportunities for youths to learn the diverse cultures that exist in the country.
Jega who said it is a wonderful experience to participate in the one year mandatory service.


“NYSC in Nigeria is, no doubt Africa’s leading programme and agency for purposeful and targeted youth mobilization for national development. In no other country in Africa are hundreds of thousands of educated and skilled youth mobilized annually for compulsory national service, to address national developmental gaps, as is the case in Nigeria. 


“This has been on-going in Nigeria now for five decades, with millions having served in the scheme, and with tremendous value addition to national progress and development. Almost two generations of Nigerian graduates of tertiary institutions (at home and abroad) have participated in the NYSC scheme, an overwhelming majority of whom served in states/regions other than their own, providing them with invaluable exposure to, and lived experiences in, sociocultural contexts different from their own.

In the past 5 decades, through the NYSC, skilled and trained Nigerian youth in their millions have, in various ways, made significant contributions, and added remarkable value, to Nigeria’s socioeconomic development. 


“There is no doubt that, in the post-civil war Nigeria, i.e. since the middle of the 1970s, the NYSC has facilitated, if not catalysed, national integration, which is one of the core objectives of the scheme. 


However, he stressed that Corps Members deserve a descent allowances that can aid them carry out their functions, while commending the initiators of the NYSC scheme, especially Gen Gowon.


Despite the successes, the former INEC chairman pointed out that the scheme is facing some challenges that need to be addressed, which includes welfare of staff and corps members, amongst others. 


He noted that the prospect of the scheme depend on how the government address the challenges and reposition it. 


“Government will need to address the funding of the scheme and ensure the security of corps members in national service.”


Jega further stressed the need for NYSC to be voluntary with enough incentives.


 In his opening remarks, his the Director General of the Scheme, Brigadier General Yusha’u Dogara Ahmed said for the five decades NYSC has distinguished itself in various sectors in the country.

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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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