Ali Ndume, former Senate leader and senator representing Borno South, says there are discrepancies in the tax reform laws signed by President Bola Tinubu, adding that the federal government is treating Nigerians with levity.
Abdussamad Dasuki, a member of the House of Representatives,
had last year alleged discrepancies between the tax reform bills passed by
lawmakers and the copies later made available to the public.
Ndume spoke on Wednesday on Prime Time, a programme on Arise
TV, while reacting to controversies surrounding the tax legislation.
He said Taiwo Oyedele, chairman of the presidential
committee on tax reforms, had admitted that there were “differentials” and “at
least two versions” of the tax law, noting that any correction must be handled
by the national assembly.
“Even the chairman of the presidential committee on tax
reform, Taiwo Oyedele, admitted that there are differentials, two versions, or
at least two versions of the tax law, and that if something has to be done, it
has to be the national assembly,” he said.
Reacting to claims by Godswill Akpabio, Senate president,
that there were no discrepancies, Ndume said that position was merely an
opinion.
“That is his opinion, and as for me, I did a lot of research
on it, and the House of Representatives member raised that matter, and they didn’t deny
it,” he said.
Ndume added that the House of Representatives is still
investigating the matter, underlining that his concern is about secrecy in
governance.
“My problem is not whether there are discrepancies or not; I
am worried about doing things behind closed doors. This is government of the
people, for the people, and by the people,” he said.
He said the national assembly leadership should openly
address the issue, adding that lawmakers have the right to express dissenting
views without being labelled rebels.
“I called on the leadership to say, ‘look, there is a
problem here, because what we passed is not what the president signed,” he
said.
Ndume warned that the discrepancies should not be ignored
because laws do not stand on “disputed grounds” or they may be challenged in
court.
“This is not something they can just bury, because the way
they are going about it is full of contradiction and controversy,” he said.
He dismissed claims that the tax reforms were already being
implemented, insisting that implementation is impossible with multiple versions
of the law in the public space.
“As I told you, there are different versions out there, so
which one do they implement?” he said.
Ndume accused the government of personalising national
issues, warning that the matter would backfire if not resolved.
“The president is president of Nigeria; he is a servant of
the people, Nigerians are not servants of the president, and this thing is
going to fall on them if they don’t fix it,” he said.
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