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WHY UGWUANYI IS THE MOST BENEVOLENT LEADER IN THE HISTORY OF MODERN ENUGU STATE.

Published

4 years ago

December 8, 2020

By Jeff Ejiofor

In ascribing BENEVOLENCE to the Governor, it’s important I define it to avoid any form of misconception by the reading audience, and put them in proper perspective to understand the essence of its usage here. Benevolence according to Cambridge Dictionary is the quality of being kind and helpful. It is charitable kindness, the ability to do good to others, especially those in need. Coming to modern Enugu State, it simply means Enugu from the date of its present composition. Precisely put, the Enugu State which came into being on 1st October 1996 following the creation of Ebonyi State by Late General Sani Abacha. So, my assertion that Ugwuanyi is the most benevolent leader in the history of modern Enugu State connotes his being the most humane, kind and charitable leader to govern Enugu State since 1996.

Having provided a background insight of what benevolence means and the context within which it’s used here, I would shed considerable light on its synonymity with the man, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi. It will also not be out of place to reflect on some people’s responses to the short post I made on facebook concerning the matter on Tuesday, 30th Nov. 2020. Many respondents had commented out of context probably because of their inability to comprehend the post or out of sheer bias disposition against His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, The Doyin of Peace in Enugu State. Most times, out of ignorance or lack of information, people tend to rush into hasty conclusion over issues without carefully analysing them to unravel the realities on ground.

However, let me substantiate my position by providing answers to some genuine concerns raised by few of them. First of all,
those conversant with Enugu State know quite well that Ugwuanyi is the first Enugu Governor to show concern to the plight of the downtrodden as evidenced in his pro masses policies such as massive rural development, even distribution of infrastructure, running of open door policy, empowerment schemes beneficial to the poor, scholarship to the indigent, sponsorship of oversea trainings of qualified Enugu indigenes who distinguished themselves in various fields of endeavour, and the elavation of Enugu workers’ salary among other things.

Ugwuanyi is the first Enugu Governor to allow all inclusive wages negotiation. He gave workers opportunity to make inputs in their condition of service which led to the upward review and implementation of the national minimum wage in the state. It takes a kind man to do that in the midst of recession and economic instability. Those who question the ownership of state fund as regards its disbursement in this regard should tell us why it was not possible for previous chief executives of the state to do that. Does it mean they would have funded the outcome from their private pockets?

Again, this is the first time a Governor of Enugu State is concentrating development in the rural areas to touch the lives of poor and indigent rural dwellers who were hitherto abandoned. From Nkanu East to Awgu-Anninri, Udi, Oji River and Ezeagu, roads are being opened for rural farmers. Uzo-Uwani before now had two areas which could not connect each other unless they travelled over 59kms through four different local governments. Today, the story is different with the 36kms Eziani- Umuluokpa road Ugwuanyi is constructing to connect these forgotten poor people to their local government headquarters. It takes benevolence and courage to do that which others avoided. People of Isi-Uzo, Udenu and Nsukka LGAs will never forget Ugwuanyi’s rural road openings at Eha-Ndiagu and Agu Umabor which will enhance agricultural activities in due time. Mbu, Umualor and Eha-Amufu communities of Isi-Uzo will never forget the rural road projects of the Ugwuanyi administration. Udenu people will forever remain grateful to Ugwuanyi for his rural development drive which has seen to the completion of many strategic rural roads in the area. Igboeze North and South are not left out. The Amenity Hospital currently going on in Enugu Ezike as well as Type 3 Health Facility at Ibagwa Aka are all testimonies of rural development of this regime. It indeed takes benevolence to remember this harpless segment of the society.

Enhancement of rural health care delivery for the most vulnerable group in the society is an act of benevolent governance. The urgency of attention required in this sector necessitated the rehabilitation of health facilities across the 17 LGAs of the state with additional 7 new Type 3 Health Centres with modern equipment. He is also building a specialist tertiary health institution at Igbo-Ano to take care of the health needs of the entire Enugu North Zone which before now had none.

This is also the only Governor in modern Enugu State to site Fire Service Stations in rural areas. Oji River, Udi, Nkanu West, Udenu and Igboeze North are beneficiaries of this lofty policy which has repositioned the agency to combat any fire outbreak in such areas. It takes a benevolent leader to consider the safety of the downtrodden and do the needful.

It is also a common knowledge that Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi is the most tolerant modern Enugu Governor with meek and humble disposition which obviously potray him as one that cannot hurt a fly even in the face of unwaranted attacks by misguided social critics. It takes humility and benevolence to invite your detractors to a meeting with the intention of addressing their grievances. He is the first and the only Enugu Governor to do that. He does not hunt political enemies and ardent critics.

His open door policy is unparalelled in the history of Enugu State. He is the only Governor that created an atmosphere of simplicity around himself where people of different segments of the society access the Government House at will to table their problems. He leaves his door open to the masses irrespective of their class. These benevolence and openess were what led to the halting of incessant harrassment of motorists in Enugu by local government tugs that was the hallmark of the last administration. His ability to give listening ears to the public is legendary. Ugwuanyi stopped the bullying of Enugu citizens by ESWAMA, the agency in charge of environmental sanitation, which led to loss of lives in the past. It takes a benevolent leader to come down from his high horse to listen and pay attention to the plight of the masses.

Apparently, it is obvious that some people who do not see anything good in Ugwuanyi even when it’s clear that he has performed creditably well, were confusing benevolence with good governance in my previous update in line with their own relative understanding. Yes, good governance is relative, and its interpretation is a function of the judge’s mind. After all, I do not see the reason anyone will accuse a Governor who has done so much in the areas of rural infrastructure and basic amenities of non performance. Whether anybody likes it or not, Ugwuanyi is one of the few Governors in Nigeria today that have performed well given the current economic situation in the country. A visit to many rural communities will certainly convince the doubting Thomases.

Incedentally, some of these social media critics want all Enugu State problems to be fixed in 6 years, forgetting that government is a continuum. Some were there before, and many will still come after. So, governance is a continous process where people do their own bit and quit the stage at the expiration of their tenure. People should endeavour to be objective in their assessment of government performance. All those making noise here and there cannot convincingly define good governance in the context of the current circumstances in the country. They cannot accurately make objective and analytical comparisons among various state Governors. They also lack the objective and sincere analytical prowess to compare the past and present administrations. I once analysed past and present governments of Enugu State with statistical variables as regards shaping of their activities and performances. Some of the critics who were not ready to be objective, dismissed my views with a wave of hand and ignored the role of exchange rate in determining the cost of governance. They equally pretend not to know the impact of crude oil prices and sales on revenue generation vis a vis resources available to governments in Nigeria. To them, such important factors do not matter and that is why a Governor who has balanced infrastructural development and welfare of citizens has not performed in their minds. Some are even quick to name one or two governors who according to them are developing massive infrastructure in their states, without looking at such people’s welfare and human rights records as well as borrowing culture. It is unfortunate that every Dick and Hary has become a political analyst with the attendant danger of vague analysis and judgement

Well, in order not to bug readers with long piece, let me leave us with these few words of reality. In addition to the above insight into Ugwuanyi’s remarkable performances, several feats have been recorded by his administration in the areas of health, education and social security. A look at the secondary and primary education in Enugu State where modern facilities have been made available for quality learning environment even in the remotest parts of the state is a clear proof. His achievement in the health sector is glaring and the construction of an ultra modern Infectious Disease Hospital in Enugu is welcoming. Tertiary education has also benefited immensely from the Governor’s infrastructural touch. IMT, one of the foremost higher institutions of learning in the state has been revamped both in acadamic and physical infrastructure. So many courses have been accredited under his regime leading to its first convocation in 10 years. In short, Ugwuanyi is an epitome of benevolent and responsible leadership and no objective person will dispute that.

Ugwuanyi is unarguably like the noble Sun whose warmth is beneficial to even those who resent it for shinning.

Enugu is undeniably in the hands of God with him!

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Business

Tinubu’s People-Centric Tax Reforms and Ndume’s Threat

Published

2 days ago

November 10, 2024

The Gleamer

By Sunday Dare

“We cannot continue to tax poverty when we are supposed to promote prosperity” – President Bola Ahmed Tinubu

Senator Alli Ndume. Controversial. Outspoken, brilliant and engaging. Of all his attributes I did not find a place for ‘willful ignorance’ as one of his attributes or did I miss something? His Channels Television Interview was at once interesting and absurd coming from a person of his status : ranking Senator of the Federal Republic.

If his attack of Tinubu Tax Bills now before the Parliament was understandable, his open admission that he has not read the Tax bill he was so vehemently opposed to is unpardonable.

In plain sight Senator Ndume displayed his ignorance. That ignorance will be best cured by facts and not bluster. The Tax bill is not dead on arrival. The tax bill is well and alive and that is why we are having this conversation.

Despite the consensus that a fair, equitable and business-friendly taxation regime is pivotal to Nigeria’s drive for economic growth and sustainable development, the requisite will to pursue the reforms needed for achieving this has, unfortunately, either not been there on the part of the leadership, or where efforts have been made, it has not produced significant results. Nigeria has consistently ranked as one of the countries with the lowest revenue-to-GDP ratios in the world, which, according to Il Jung, “makes its fiscal position vulnerable to shocks”.
This from the IMF staff who prepared Nigeria’s revenue mobilisation report 2023. President Tinubu understands this clearly.

Such is the situation that “general government revenue in Nigeria was 7.3 percent of GDP for 2021—less than half of the average in countries belonging to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and nearly a third of the average of countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)—and ranked as 191st out of 193 countries in the world.”

At 9.4% in 2023, Nigeria’s tax revenue to GDP ratio was not only among the lowest in the world but also on the continent, according to Axel Schimmelpfennig, the IMF mission Chief for Nigeria. To Il Jung, “Nigeria’s low tax revenue has been mainly driven by the narrow bases of its indirect taxes, low tax compliance, large amount of tax exemptions as well as low rates. Tax compliance and tax morale are still very low. Nigeria’s VAT collection efficiency (C-efficiency ratio)—the ratio of actual revenues to potential revenue—is the lowest among peer African countries.” The result is “…that the government has too few resources for social and development spending on health, on education, on infrastructure, etc.,” Schimmelpfennig says.

This age-long challenge of narrow revenue base, huge debt burden and high demand for social and development spending, which successive administrations have been confronted with, is what President Bola Ahmed Tinubu decided to tackle head-long through a Root Cause Analysis in order to identify and resolve underlying issues in Nigeria’s tax system to enable it proffer appropriate solutions. President Tinubu had been upfront about tackling this challenge before assuming office, and in his inauguration speech, he assured local and foreign investors that his “government shall review all their complaints about multiple taxations and various anti-investment inhibitions.”

Less than 2 months in office, he announced the setting up of the Presidential Committee on fiscal policy and tax reforms, headed by former Fiscal Policy Partner and Africa Tax Leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Taiwo Oyedele, comprising of experts from both the private and public sectors to undertake comprehensive law reforms, fiscal policy design and coordination, harmonization of taxes, and revenue administration. At the inauguration of the committee in August last year, the President restated his commitment to reforms to ensure a more enabling environment and relief for small businesses and those at the bottom of the pyramid. “We cannot continue to tax poverty when we are supposed to promote prosperity,” he said.

The President’s vision and clear mandate is evident in what the Fiscal policy and tax reforms Committee delivered as recommendations to the government, and became a part of the Economic Stabilisation Bills (ESB) approved by the Federal Executive Council in September, as part of the Accelerated Stability and Advancement Plan (ASAP) of the government. The ESB which seeks to amend about 15 different tax, fiscal, and establishment laws to facilitate economic stability and set the country on the path for sustained inclusive growth, has as some of its objectives: inflation reduction and price stability; complementing monetary policy measures with appropriate fiscal interventions to strengthen the naira and sustain exchange rates convergence; promotion of fiscal discipline and consolidation; enhancement of job creation and poverty alleviation; as well as export promotion and diversification.

It was in furtherance to a realisation of these objectives that President Bola Tinubu sent a letter to the 2 chambers of the National Assembly, requesting for the approval of 4 tax reform bills, which are: “The Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill”, “The Nigeria Tax Bill”, “The Nigeria Tax Administration Bill,” and “The Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Bill.” These Bills seek to provide a consolidated fiscal framework for taxation in Nigeria, a clear and concise legal framework for the fair, consistent and efficient administration of all the tax laws to facilitate ease of tax compliance, reduce tax disputes and optimize revenue, among others.

While investors and the business community have welcomed this development, there has been a pushback from some quarters from those who have apparently not familiarised themselves with the contents of the Bills. The concern by the Northern Governors Forum about the proposed amendment in one of the bills is the distribution model for Value Added Tax (VAT) which has been addressed by Mr Taiwo Oyedele, Chairman of the Fiscal Reforms Committee. He assured them that the aim of the proposal is “to create a fairer system by devising a different form of derivation which takes into account the place of supply or consumption for relevant goods and services whether they are zero rated, exempt or taxable at the standard rate”.

The surprise, though, is the response from Senator Ali Ndume who has declared that the bills “will be dead on arrival”, even as he confessed that he is yet to read the bills, which we presume should be available to him, having been received by the National Assembly, as the Senate President announced on the floor of the Senate. I refuse to believe that any Senator, and definitely not one of Senator Ndume’s standing will say, “We don’t need to study the bill”, as he was quoted to have said. Senator Ndume can’t be that flippant, as the legislative business is serious business.

For the benefit of Senator Ndume and others who might be of the mind that they do not need to study a document before speaking to it, here are some of the changes proposed in the bills:

1.Changes to the income tax laws to facilitate remote work opportunities for Nigerians in Nigeria within the global business process outsourcing. This will empower our youths to play a key role in the digital economy space.
2.Zero rated VAT and other incentives to promote exports in goods, services, and intellectual property.
3.Tax exemptions for small businesses including WHT, VAT, and 0% CIT.
4.Exemption from personal income tax for minimum wage earners and reduced tax burden for over 90% of private and public sector workers
5.VAT at 0% for food, education, health, and exemption for rent and public transportation. These items constitute an average of 82% of household consumption and nearly 100% for low-income households to ameliorate the rising cost of living for the masses.
6.Introduction of the Tax Ombudsman to advocate for improved tax system and protect vulnerable taxpayers
7.Reduction of corporate income tax rate from 30% to 25% over the next 2 years and elimination of earmarked taxes on companies to be replaced with a harmonised single levy at a reduced rate.
8.Elimination of minimum tax on loss-making companies and those with low margins
9. Grant of input VAT credit to businesses on assets and services to reduce cost of investment and improve competitiveness
10.Redesign of the personal income tax band and rates, VAT and Capital Gains Tax to be progressive while protecting the poor
11.Changes to permit the payment of taxes on foreign currency denominated transactions in naira to reduce the pressure on the exchange rate and simplify compliance for businesses.
12.Proposal to repeal over 50 nuisance taxes and levies, and harmonise the remaining taxes to a single digit
13.Equitable basis for VAT revenue sharing to ensure that states without many headquarter companies are fairly treated and recognised for their economic contributions
14.Rationalisation of tax incentives to reduce uncertainty and provide a level playing field for all investors
15.A new National Fiscal Policy to set the framework for fair taxation, responsible borrowing and sustainable spending.

Without a doubt, these Tax-reform Bills have been thoughtfully and carefully designed in alignment with President Tinubu’s agenda to remove all obstacles impeding business growth in the country, promote small businesses and the poor, it is strange that Senator Ali Ndume, who purports to be speaking for the people will stand in opposition to them, even when he confessed to having not read them. If he has not read the bills, I doubt that he read a newspaper editorial, which quoted the Chairman of the Reforms Committee to have explained that “the reforms are geared towards correcting the structural imbalances in the tax system which has seen the poor overburdened with taxes while the elite and middle class routinely evade, avoid, or underpay taxes”.

Senator Ndume might need to familiarise himself with what is driving the reforms and the proposals that have been laid out, which include consolidating the different ‘nuisance taxes’ taxes and levies, which some have put at 62 official and 200 unofficial taxes into a streamlined system of 8 taxes to eliminate unnecessary financial strain on citizens while ensuring a more efficient revenue collection process. The committee is also pushing for a constitutional amendment to limit the total number of taxes on individuals and businesses to a single-digit. The objective, it says, to provide greater financial stability and predictability for taxpayers, fostering a more conducive business environment. Apart from that are the amendments to the withholding tax regulation, with businesses earning below 50 million Naira exempted from this tax, to provide relief for small companies and reduce the tax burden on emerging enterprises to engender growth of SMES, which play a central role in providing employment and the development of the economy.

Estimates from the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) a few years back had it that out of 70 million taxable adults in Nigeria, only 14 million pay tax, with 96 percent of those who do so through the Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) system, which is an indication that most of those outside the formal system don’t pay tax. Yet, a report listed Nigeria as home to almost a thousand billionaires (computed in naira), out of which only 214 pay taxes of N20 million and above. If any proof is needed for allegations of evasion and gross underpayment of personal income taxes, that must be it. President Tinubu’s bold decision to resolve the challenges that confront the tax administration system to improve Nigeria’s tax-to-GDP ratio, increase non-oil revenue generation, attract investment, support businesses and strengthen the economy deserves all the support it can get, especially from the Governors and the National Assembly. Senator Ndume will do well to rally support for the bold initiatives of President Tinubu, study the Tax Reform Bills and work with his colleagues for speedy passage so that Nigerians can take advantage of the opportunities they are designed to unlock.

Sunday Dare
Special Adviser to the President
(Public Communication & Orientation)

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