The Kano State House of Assembly has kicked against President Tinubu’s tax reform bills currently undergoing legislative action before the National Assembly.
This followed deliberations on the house floor, presided over by the speaker, Hon. Ismail Falgore, during yesterday’s plenary.
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The majority leader of the House, Lawan Husseini, who represents the Dala constituency, in a motion of urgent public importance, presented the need for northern lawmakers as well as the conference of speakers not to allow the bill to see the light of the day.
According to him, the bill, when passed into law, will not benefit the people in the north; as such, the Senate’s actions in passing it are totally condemnable.
“We view it as a calculated plan to sabotage the economy and even increase the hardship and impoverish the region in general.
“The pattern or arrangement in that law to allocate VAT is worrisome because some states will suffer, and states like Lagos would take a major share of that collection because most of the major headquarters of the Nigerian banks, telecommunications companies, Dangote and Bua companies, as well as other multinational company headquarters, are situated in Lagos. So the 80 percent of the VAT collected in Nigeria will be to Lagos and it’s environs, whereas some other states in Northern Nigeria will take a minimal share,” he said.
Hon. Husseini noted that this would further weaken some states in the region, explaining that some of them may not be able to pay salaries, leading to an increase in hardship and poverty, among others.
Supporting the motion, Hon Salisu Mohammed, representing Doguwa constituency, further opined that the upper house should focus its attention on other sensitive issues that affect the lives of Nigerians, such as insecurity and unemployment, adding that the tax reform bill should not be subjected to a hasty legislative process.
Similarly, Hon. Murtala Kadage, a member representing Garko constituency, highlighted the need to unite as representatives of the people to ensure the bill does not pass for the good of the region.
After careful deliberations, the House called on members of the Senate and House of Representatives, especially from the North, and members of the Conference of Speakers to act swiftly and not allow the bill to pass.