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Outcry against Tax Reform Bills misplaced, says Senator Umeh
The senator representing Anambra Central on the platform of the Labour Party (LP), Victor Umeh, has said there is nothing to fear about the Tax Reform Bills currently before the National Assembly for consideration and passage.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had, in October, transmitted four Tax Reform Bills to the National Assembly for consideration. The President had said the proposed reforms were aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s fiscal institutions and ensuring the actualisation of his administration’s comprehensive development plans for the country.
The President’s introduction of the Bills had ignited public outcry, leading to widespread debates across Nigeria.
Umeh, who addressed reporters yesterday in Abuja, noted that despite the criticisms against the proposed tax reforms, the Federal Government only has to properly market the Bills to Nigerians to enable them have a better understanding of the contents to clear their doubts.
The lawmaker, who is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Diaspora Matters and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), stressed that reforms were necessary steps and actions the government needed to take to bring about the changes that would guarantee the growth of the economy and make life better for the citizens.
“Globally, what people don’t like to do is to pay tax. Nobody likes to pay money. But a system that has worked effectively would have the confidence of its citizens to pay tax. When you charge tax that people will not be willing to pay and then you use force to get the tax, it is not a good tax.
“Any tax that you use force to get is not a good tax. A good tax is one that people will be willing to pay. And so, it will be easy to administer, and the collection process will be easy.
“If they know that the government would pay the money they are paying as tax to provide infrastructure and services, people will be more persuaded to pay tax. But in Nigeria, we are in a situation where Nigerians have lost faith in governance.
“So, any action that is geared towards taxing the citizens would receive immediate rejections. That is what we are seeing with the Tax Bills.
“People have not been able to read the Bills. They have continued to rely on social media posts to condemn the proposed tax reforms. I have read the Tax Reform Bills. I can tell that in as much as we will be doing consultation, I have not seen anything that is very harmful in the Bills that should warrant a total rejection.
“What we need to do is to explain and ensure that people understand the purpose and the intent of the Bills. So, the government has a lot of work to do to market its objectives to the Nigerian people and do things that will promote confidence on the part of Nigerians.
“The drivers of the government should be able to show that they are ready to be like ordinary people so that when you are asking Nigerians to pay money, they will know that they are not paying this money for you to go and buy luxuries for yourself and your family,” Umeh said.
The Osun State Chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has received thousands of decampees from the All Progressives Congress and other political parties into its fold.
The decampees, who are mostly from the Omisore Youth Support Forum (OYSF) joined the party at a ceremony held at party secretariat in Osogbo, the capital of Osun State, on Wednesday.
The were received by the Chairman of the PDP in Osun, Hon. Sunday Bisi, former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Lasun Yusuff and other party leader.
While receiving the decampees, Bisi renamed the group as Adeleke Youth Support Forum (AYSF) as they declared their support for Adeleke’s 2026 re-election bid.
One of the leaders of the decampees, Mr Francis Fasogbon said they were “inspired by the good governance delivered by Governor Ademola Adeleke”.
Hon. Dennis Agbo, representing Igboeze North/Udenu Federal Constituency in the 10th House of Representatives, has resigned from the Labour Party (LP) and defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Addressing aa gathering in his ward, Ezzodo, Agbo cited his admiration for Enugu State Governor, Dr. Peter Ndubisi Mba’s performance, as the reason for his decision.
“I acknowledge Governor Mba’s outstanding work, and I believe it’s essential to support him,” Agbo said. “As a federal legislator from Enugu State, I’m joining hands with him to provide a link between the state and federal government, promoting the good work he’s doing to uplift our state.”
Agbo, who was elected on the LP ticket, expressed his desire to work with Governor Mba, citing the governor’s vision and achievements since his inauguration in 2023.
He also emphasized that the internal crisis and division within the Labour Party was part of the factors influencing his decision to leave the party and return to PDP.
The lawmaker invited his supporters and members of Labour Party to a formal ceremony marking his transition to PDP, scheduled for May 1, 2025, at the PDP State Secretariat in Enugu.
Governor Alex Otti says he is not bothered about the noise coming from members of the opposition parties in Abia State.
Otti said his critics should not be taken serious as they are not coming out to contest elections but to seek negotiations and relevance.
Governor Otti stated this while receiving the member representing Bende North constituency in Abia State House of Assembly, Nnamdi Ibekwe who recently dumped the PDP and joined the Labour Party, LP in Abia State.
“We are not bothered about the oppositions and their noise. There are different reasons why people show up for elections.
Sometimes, they just want recognition; that their names showed up for the primaries, knowing fully well that they will not win the election.
“Some of them also come for negotiations and then of course, some others also show up for projections; they look at themselves and say, ‘if I start the noise in 2025, maybe by 2040, they will know that I have been in the race and they will call me and recognize me’, so they are projecting themselves,” Gov. Otti explained.
Governor Otti said he is rather focused on doing the job the people elected him to do and respond to the noise of the opposition across the State.
He congratulated Nnamdi Ibekwe for dumping the PDP for LP, explaining that nobody pressured him to come over to the LP, reiterating that he does not emphasize much on political platforms.
Earlier while presenting himself to the Governor, the member representing Bende North constituency, Nnamdi Ibekwe said he was attracted to the Labour Party by the achievements of Governor Alex Otti which he described as unprecedented.
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