The Northern Elders’ Forum (NEF), on Saturday, reaffirmed its rejection of the Tax Reform Bill, calling it a policy “conceived in bad faith” and warning that it threatens national cohesion.
The group criticized the manner of its implementation, alleging that key stakeholders, including members of the National Economic Council, were sidelined during the process.
The Convener of NEF, Professor Ango AbdullahI, in a communique after the forum Board of Trustees second bi-annual meeting, in Abuja, warned against dubious policies that could further marginalize the North’s resource potential.
The Forum lauded the Northern States Governors’ Forum and the Northern Nigeria Council of Traditional Rulers for opposing the bill, dubbing their stance “patriotic” while urging Northern politicians in the National Assembly to speak out against it.
He said: “The meeting seriously maintained that, in its present form, the Tax Reform Bill is conceived in bad faith, poorly packaged and it is a palpable threat to our unity and national cohesion.
“The Meeting proceeded by drawing attention to the brazen cavalier way and suspicious manner in which the Tax Reform Bill was imposed on the nation, without allowing the in-puts of critical stakeholders, even as it kept members of the National Economic Council in the dark, thus; confirming the sinister intentions of those promoting this outrageous Bill.
“The Board-in-session, condemned in very strong terms, the conspicuous loss of voice on this burning issue by the overwhelming number of elected politicians in the National Assembly from the region, and fiercely warned, that indeed, the days are fast gone, when such conspiratorial connivance against the vital and strategic interest of the region, either by those within or outside the region, would be condoned or even
tolerated
“In consideration of the deteriorating situation in the education sector in the country in general and the North in particular, the Board-in-Session was alarmed by the high percentage, now about (60%) of students in Northern Nigeria, who involuntarily were not able to return to their institutions of higher learning, universities, polytechnics, colleges of education and legal studies, due to high costs of tuition fees and unaffordable daily transportation to and from schools.
“The Meeting went on to discuss the explosive crisis of out of school children now estimated to be 20 million in the whole country, of which over 80% comes from the North. Against this troubling reality, the Board-in-session expressed serious doubt, on the viability and efficacy of the much touted Federal Students Loan Scheme as a panacea to this malignant malady.
“The Board-in-session, unanimously frowned at the surreptitious move being masterminded by the Ministry of Mines and Solid Minerals to sponsor dubious mining policies in collusion with certain political actors, with the sole aim of stifling the investment opportunities of the huge mineral resource potentials linked to the vast Northern region.
“The Meeting spiritedly decried the prevalence of condescending attitude being exhibited by some powerful political actors in the region, who more often than not, behave arrogantly and disdainfully like rulers rather than leaders fully committed to the plight of their people.
“The Board-in-session, urgently called on the people of the North to stay resolute and remain vigilant in defence of their inalienable rights, particularly their voting rights and to desist from allowing themselves to be deceived yet again, through subterfuge, use of ill-gotten wealth and religious manipulation, by some unscrupulous elements, whose past records did not portray them to be persons of integrity, character and probity.”
The NEF urged Northerners to remain vigilant in defending their rights, particularly during elections, and warned against falling victim to manipulation by unscrupulous leaders with questionable records.
The group emphasized the importance of safeguarding unity and resisting attempts to divide the region.
