Tax Reform Bill: President Tinubu Should Respect Our Views – Buba Galadima

A chieftain of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Buba Galadima, has called on President Bola Tinubu to respect the views of Nigerians concerning the Tax Reform Bill.

Naija News reported that the President sent some emissaries to some Northern chieftains to converse with them and secure their support for the Tax Bill.

Northern governors and some federal lawmakers condemned the bill and demanded that President Tinubu withdraw it from the National Assembly for further consultation.

In an interview with Arise News on Sunday to analyze the emissaries the President sent to get Northerners to support the bill, Galadimma advised the government to respect the call for withdrawal of the bill.

The North politician and elder statesman argued that the Tax Reform Bill submitted to NASS was unconstitutional.

“Revenue bill as submitted to the National Assembly cannot stand the test of time because the revenue bill has gone contrary to some provisions of the Constitution. It is within the province of the federal government or any state government or local government to create an idea of expanding its revenue base. But the sharing of the revenue is not the responsibility of the federal government nor that of the National Assembly.

“It is of the National Assembly to the extent that when they look at the sharing, they will have to change the Constitution by going round, so that they remove the authority of the revenue mobilization from that province. That has not been done. And to say, let’s do more consultation so that people comment on this matter, I don’t think it is a negation or a disrespect or even whatever against the president. It is not.

“This is our country. If the President presents anything and we the people of Nigeria say no, our views should be respected because the president and the governors and members of the National Assembly are there because we put them there. So they should respect our views,” he stated.