THE chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, has dismissed claims that the panel did not consult with Nigerian governors.
The introduction of the bills by the Bola Tinubu-led government sparked widespread debates, especially in the north, with the Northern Governors Forum, the Northern Elders Forum, and others expressing strong opposition to the bill.
The proposed legislation seeks to reform the country’s tax collection and administration systems, offering an opportunity to establish a more equitable and efficient taxation model. It includes the Nigeria Tax Bill 2024, the Tax Administration Bill, the Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Bill, and the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill.
Earlier, elder statesman and northern politician Buba Galadima claimed that the tax committee failed to consult with governors, adding that the bills were only fair to Ogun and Lagos states, adding that the Oyedele-led group failed to meet with any governor except that of Lagos state.
Speaking during an appearance on Arise TV on Sunday, Oyedele faulted Galadima’s allegations, revealling that the heads of the state governments cancelled four scheduled meetings.
He said, “We have more than 20 government institutions represented. We have the private sector, whether it’s manufacturers, whether it’s women in business. We have 45 students from 22 universities across Nigeria.
“In addition to that, we had extensive engagement with the governors. I went to the governors’ forum. We wrote and wanted to meet with six governors, one from each of the six geopolitical zones. Up until this moment, it’s only the governor of Lagos state we were able to see.
“The other governor who was willing to welcome us was the governor of Kaduna state. And after all the logistics, we agreed on the date, on that day he wasn’t able to attend. It was the deputy governor that hosted us. I will not name the other governors, but I can actually if I need to. They didn’t have time for us.
“The governors’ forum themselves invited us four times and canceled four times. The fifth time, we were kept waiting until 1:30 a.m., in the middle of the night. By the time they had time for us, they said we had 15 minutes.
“And I said, Your Excellencies, we have a lot to talk about. They said, tell us how our revenues will go up. Even that, we couldn’t say in 15 minutes. We had a half-day engagement with the finance commissioners from across Nigeria. We’ve had more than four engagements with the heads of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from all over Nigeria.
“We’ve had engagements with different groups, more than 40 sectors, from manufacturers to SMEs to FinTech. And these things were published.”
To address issues of misinformation, Oyedele revealed the committee met with over 120 northern clerics and regularly engages with northern groups like the League of Northern Democrats.
His words: “I’ll tell you that we had an interesting meeting with the Ulamas. They are the clerics, mostly from the north. There were over 120. We had to explain everything to them. And many of them, when we were done, were praying for the work we had done because there was a lot of misinformation previously.
“We had meetings also with some sections of the north. I was with the League of Northern Democrats. So if they call me today, most times I get less than a 24-hour notice. I have to fly around to go to different places. So we are happy to discuss. We are willing to discuss.”