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TICAD7: Buhari Arrives Yokohama, Japan

President Muhammadu Buhari has arrived in Japan to participate in the Seventh Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD7), holding in Yokohama from Aug. 28 to Aug. 30.
A report posted by the president’s personal assistant on new media, Alhaji Bashir Ahmed, at about 1.25 p.m. showed Buhari with Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama.
Also in the pictorial report is the Nigerian Ambassador to Japan, Mr. Mohammed Yisa, seen with Buhari at the president’s hotel in Yokohama.
An earlier statement by Mr. Femi Adesina, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, said Buhari’s participation in the conference would be his second, having attended TICAD6 in Nairobi, Kenya in August, 2016.
“With the theme: `Africa and Yokohama, Sharing Passion for the Future,’ the opening session of TICAD7 will be performed by the Japanese Prime Minister and host, Shinzo Abe,’’ said Adesina.
The presidential aide revealed that Buhari would deliver Nigeria’s statement during plenary three sessions when he would appraise Nigeria-Japan relations and takeaways from TICAD6.
He said the president would also attend a state banquet and honor the invitation of Emperor Naruhito to a tea reception at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo.
“In addition to a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Abe, the Nigerian president will also attend some side-events and meet chief executive officers of some Japanese companies with huge investments in Nigeria,’’ he added.
Formed in 1993, the now triennial TICAD has been convened alternately in Japan and Africa since TICAD6.
According to the organizers, TICAD is the largest international conference held in Japan providing an open forum that generates innovative discussions among various stakeholders on African development.
Participants are drawn not only from African countries but also from international organizations, private companies and civil society organizations involved in development.
TCAD7 is expected to focus on Africa’s economic transformation and improvements in business, environment, and institutions through private investment and innovation.
t is also expected to focus on the promotion of resilient and sustainable African society for human security and peace and stability in support of Africa’s domestic proactive efforts.
Nigeria has gained tremendously since its participation in TICAD6 at the highest level.
Japan had pledged 30 billion dollars investment for the future of Africa combined with the private sector and 10 billion dollars infrastructure investment as well as 500 million dollars for vocational training of 50,000 Africans.
Since the Nairobi Conference, the Japanese Government and companies have been active in supporting Nigeria’s agriculture, healthcare, electricity and youth empowerment.
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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