The Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, has refuted claims by some northern leaders that the committee did not consult with governors before drafting the proposed tax reform bills....CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE➤
Oyedele was responding to claims by Buba Galadima, who, during an appearance on Arise Television, argued that the committee had neglected consultations with northern leaders and only engaged with the governor of Lagos State.
In his response, Oyedele pointed to the governors’ lack of cooperation, stating that four scheduled meetings were cancelled, limiting their ability to engage effectively.
He revealed that despite efforts to meet with governors from each of the six geopolitical zones, only Lagos State’s governor responded positively to the committee’s requests.
Oyedele added that although the Kaduna State governor had originally consented to meet, plans changed and the deputy governor took his place.
“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, but 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,” he said.
Oyedele also revealed that the Governors’ Forum invited the committee to meet with them four times, but on each occasion, the meetings were cancelled.
According to him, on the fifth attempt, the committee kept waiting until 1:30 am and was given only 15 minutes for discussions.
“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 a 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.”
He claimed that the panel expedited the compilation of the reforms because, in addition to the fact that Nigeria can not afford to waste time, it must promptly alleviate its “pain” and put the country on the correct course for development.
Oyedele also noted that they engaged with over 120 Muslim clerics, mostly from the north, and the League of Northern Democrats, to discuss the potential impact of the tax reforms.
He added that the committee consulted with more than 20 government institutions, the private sector, manufacturers, SMEs, and over 40 different sectors, including FinTech.
“We have more than 20 government institutions represented. We have the private sector, whether it’s manufacturers, whether its women in business. We have 45 students from 22 universities across Nigeria,” he said. ...CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE➤
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