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Stop Trivializing Governance, Benue People Deserve Better Leadership, Group Tells Ortom

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Ortom Confirms Receipt Of FG’s N14.9bn Paris Club Refunds@thegleamer.com

The Benue Proactive Coalition For Good Governance (BPCGG) has taken a swipe at Governor Samuel Ortom for his constant fixation on President Muhammadu Buhari saying it is a ploy to cover up the many failures of his administration.

Addressing a press conference in Abuja on Saturday, Executive Director of the group, Comrade Timothy Tor urged Gov Ortom  to be worried about the  legacy he would live behind for the people of Benue.

“It is unfortunate that having lost the good will of his people, Ortom would turn himself into a bug of the presidency, using his failure to provide leadership as an escape window”.

The group insisted that the security challenges created in Benue were instigated by the governors lack of direction, recalling how he empowered  the most dreaded militia Terwase Akwaza AKA Gana with the most lucrative government revenue consultancy.

“What other gaffe could be more glaring and embarrassing than for a sitting governor to hobnob with such a man who has killed thousands of his people? But Gov Ortom did”, the group queried.

The group asked him to explain why his colleagues in  neighbouring states such as Kogi, Nassarawa are delivering good governance in the midst of herdsmen/farmers clashes.

“If Governor Zulum who is facing the greatest security challenges in Borno State could awe Nigerians with such positive achievements, Ortom should humble himself to take a crash course in good governance. Dropping President Buharis name to curry long lost good will can not cure Ortom of his increasingly  manifesting  deficiencies”, the group maintained.

It further said it has taken the liberty to summarise Gov Ortom administration failures in the following posers:

“Where there no herdsmen/farmers clashes before  Ortom became governor in Benue?

“Would Gov Ortom be able to govern the state if the federal government withdraws her security agencies in the state?

“Was it President Buhari who asked Ortom to award the largest revenue consultancy to the most dreaded militia, the late Terwase Akwaza AKA GANA?

“Was it President Buhari who sent the Tiv Militia that confessed to have butchered their fellow Tiv kinsmen only recently?

“Why did Gov Ortom not make a media outing on those confessions made by fellow Tiv militia?

“Can Governor Ortom account for the monthly security votes other than it’s diversion on media propaganda?

“Can Ortom name one single project his administration has started and completed within the last six years?

“Is President Buhari responsible for the failure of Gov Ortom to pay salaries and pensions? How does herdsmen affect payment of salaries remains a puzzle only Ortom can unravel.

“Can Gov Ortom say President Buhari is the reason the road to his home town is not motorable?

“⁸Is President Buhari responsible for the blatant withholding of local government funds in outright disregard for local government autonomy?

“Benue people are not going to forgive him if he does not turn a new leaf in good time”

“Until Governor Ortom is able to address above deficiencies, he will continue to deal with the declining goodwill of Benue people no matter how much he drops President Buharis name,” the group asserted.

It maintained that the role of chief security officer of a state is beyond superintendenting over the misappropriation of public funds and urge Governor Ortom to bother on what to tell Benue people when they finally call him to render account of his misgovernance.

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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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