South-east Caucus Demands Broader Stakeholder Engagement on Tax Reform Bills Amid Controversy

As discussions over the tax reform bills continue across the country, the South-east Caucus in the Senate on Monday, threw their weight behind stakeholders insisting on wider consultations on the proposed fiscal legislations before both chambers of the National Assembly.

The leader of the caucus, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (APGA Abia South), disclosed this to journalists after a closed-door meeting of senators from the five southeastern states, held in his office.

Abaribe at the media briefing clarified that senators from the south-east were not against the bills.

He said they only wanted wider consultations to be carried out on them before full consideration and possible passage at both chanbers of the federal parliament.

Abaribe, who is the Chairman, Senate Committee on Power said, “As much as the entire Senators from the South-east geopolitical zone are concerned, we are not against the Tax Reform Bills currently pending before both chambers of the National Assembly for consideration.

“We only want wider consultations to be carried out on them. Specifically, we need to consult with our constituents across the 15 Senatorial Districts in the Zone, with our state governments and other critical stakeholders.

“We have read through the bills and want to share our knowledge with other stakeholders from the South-east zone for a much more equitable framework in the bills that would eventually be passed.”

“We are not against the bills but need to consult with our people,” he stressed.

The South-east senators did not give any timeframe for their consultations. 

If the matter is raised as a point of order and put to vote at plenary today, with the position of the South-east Senators, it would affect the mandate of the Committee on Finance which has four weeks left to submit its report.

Members of the House of Representatives have already dropped further consideration of the bill pending when extensive consultations and robust engagement had been sufficiently carried out on it.

The Tax Reform Bills contain the Nigeria Tax Bill 2024; the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill 2024; the Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria (Establishment) Bill  2024;  and the  Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill, 2024.

The landmark fiscal legislations have been generating controversies in the polity since October 3, 2024, when President Bola Tinubu, transmitted them to both the Senate and the House of Representatives for consideration.

At the moment, only the executive arm of the federal government, the South-south and the South-west caucuses in the Senate are calling for the immediate consideration of the bills.

The South-east senators have joined other stakeholders like the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, the Northern Senators Forum, and the Arewa Consultative Forum, among others, demanding wider consultations.

 Sunday Aborisade

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