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Tax Reform Bills scales second reading in Senate
The Senate has passed for second reading fours bills designed to reform Nigeria’s tax system.
This followed the presentation of the general principles of the bills by the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele (APC-Ekiti), during plenary on Thursday.
The four bills, which were first read on Oct. 30, are:o Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria Establishment Bill, 2024; Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Bill, 2024; Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, 2024 and the Nigeria Tax Bill, 2024.
Leading the debate on the general principles of the bills, Opeyemi said
that they represented a significant move toward overhauling the country’s tax system.
He said that the bills were aimed at simplifying the tax landscape, reducing the burden on small business and streamlining how taxes would be collected.
According to him, the four bills seek to ensure uniformity in tax revenue administration in the country, in accordance with the provisions of the constitution and eliminate the incidence of double taxation across the country.
He said that the bills also sought to deploy taxation as a tool for encouraging private sector investments in critical industries and boosting individuals’ disposable incomes through targetted tax exemptions, as captured in the various bills.
“In the area of tax exemptions, there is a proposal to exempt small business operators, while those with annual turnover of N50 million or less are equally exempted from payment of taxes.
“Similarly, there is a reduction in company’s income tax from the current 30 per cent to 25 per cent by 2026.
“As part of deliberate attempt to curtail incidence of double taxation and multiplicity of taxes and levies, multiple taxes hitherto paid by companies under various tax heads namely: 2.5 per cent education tax, 0.25 per cent NASENI tax have been harmonised into a development levy of two per cent.
“This will be applied by 2030 to fund the newly-established student loan scheme which will benefit many Nigerian youths.
” Unlike like what is obtainable under the existing tax regime whereby the Federal Government takes a lion share of VAT revenues, it is proposed that the sharing formula should allow state governments to share 55 per cent of VAT revenue from the current 15 per cent to 10 per cent sharing formula,” he said.
He, however, said local governments share of VAT revenue remained unaffected.
“Relatedly, basic items consumed by Nigerian households, such as food items, medical services and pharmaceuticals, educational fees, electricity, etc. are exempted from VAT.
“Again, as part of efforts to ease the administration of income taxes and levies across the federation, there is a reasonable effort made to consolidate core tax statutes and related tax legislations,” he said.
The senator said that the bills contained innovative and people-oriented proposals as part of government’s deliberate fiscal and tax reform measures.
He said that the bills were meant to cushion the effects of the ongoing broader economic policies, such as the removal of subsidy on petroleum products.
Opeyemi said that the innovations were also tailored toward implementing cost-reflective electricity tariffs in the power sector.
He urged the lawmakers to see the bills as part of the required legislative intervention to support the ongoing fiscal and tax reform measures needed to reposition the Nigerian economy for growth and productivity.
“These bills should be considered with great sense of patriotism and exercise of the powers of the National Assembly under Section 59 of the 1999 Constitution regarding imposition of taxes.
“I, therefore, urge my distinguished colleagues to support the bills for second reading.
Contributing, Sen. Seriake Dickson (PDP-Bayelsa) lauded the bills, saying that they would entrench the much-canvassed fiscal federalism.
However, Sen.Ali Ndume (APC-Borno) said although he was not against reforms and tax reforms in Nigeria, he, however, said that the timing of the bills was the issue.
Ndume said that the issue of derivation proposed in the bills was contradictory, stressing that the constitution needed to be amended for some of the proposals in the bills to sail through.
He said that in inline with the positions of the governors and traditional rulers, the bills should be withdrawn for further consultations.
Ndume specifically said that the issue of VAT and derivation should be addressed, adding that senate should consult first before further legislative inputs could be made on the bills.
However, Senate Chief Whip, Sen. Mohammed Monguno (APC-Borno), vehemently disagreed with Ndume, saying that his position negated the senate rule on processes of lawmaking.
He said Section 60 of 1999 Constitution, as amended, empowered the senate to regulate its procedure.
According to Monguno, the process of law-making, as stated in the senate’s rule, was unambiguous, nothing that after second reading, the bill will be transmitted for public hearing, where Nigerians of all groups will be free to make their inputs on the bills.
The senator said that Ndume’s suggestion for senate to withdraw the bills was foreign to legislative process, describing the suggestion as an academic exercise that was not worthy of legislative consideration.
According to him, the bills are noble and pro-people, as it will reduce the tax burden on Nigerians.
President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, after the reading of the bills for the second time, said all concerned stakeholders, should be invited at the public hearing to make their inputs before final clause-by-clause consideration by the senate.
He consequently referred the bills to Senate Committee on Finance for further legislative inputs, with a directive to return back to plenary in six weeks.(NAN)
A Kano State High Court, on Tuesday, reserved ruling in the case of alleged bribery and misappropriation filed against the former governor of Kano State, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, and seven others.
The Kano State Government instituted an eight-count charge bordering on bribery, misappropriation and diversion of public funds running into billions of Naira against Ganduje and seven others, including his wife, Hafsat Umar.
Others charged with Ganduje are Abubakar Bawuro, Umar Abdullahi Umar, Jibrilla Muhammad, Lamash Properties Limited, Safari Textiles Limited and Lasage General Enterprises Limited.
When the case came up for hearing of all pending applications, counsel to Ganduje and his wife, Offiong Offiong SAN, applied for an extension of time and urged the court to grant the application.
“We also filed our preliminary objection challenging the jurisdiction of the court, dated Nov. 18, 2024, along with a 28-paragraph affidavit and a written address in support.
“We also filed a reply on point of law dated April 4, 2025,” he said.
However, counsel to the state, Mr Ayodeji Adedipe, SAN, filed a reply to the notice of preliminary objection dated Oct. 22, 2024, addressing all the respondents.
“The application is attached with a seven-paragraph counter affidavit and a written address dated Dec. 13, 2024, attached along with several documents as exhibits,” Adedipe said.
He prayed the court to dismiss the respondents’ applications for lacking merit.
Counsel to the 3rd and 7th defendants, Mr Adekunle Taiye-Falola, filed a motion on notice on a preliminary objection dated Oct. 18, 2024, supported by a 14-paragraph affidavit and a written address.
“In reply to the complainant’s counter affidavit, we filed our further and better affidavit dated Dec. 12, 2024, and a reply on point of law. We urge the court to grant the application as prayed,” Taiye-Falola said.
Counsel to the 5th defendant, Mr Sunusi Musa, SAN, also filed a motion on notice on a preliminary objection dated Oct. 18, 2024, which was supported by an affidavit, an exhibit and a written address.
“We also filed our affidavit and reply on point of law and urged the court to grant the application with substantial costs against the complainant,” he said.
Counsel to the 6th respondent, Mr Ashafa Yusuf , also filed a notice of preliminary objection dated Sept. 9, 2024, supported by a nine-paragraph affidavit and a written address.
“My Lord, we filed a further and better affidavit dated Feb. 17, supported by an 11-paragraph affidavit. We also filed a reply on point of law and urged the court to grant the application,” he said.
Also, Faruk Asekone, counsel to the 8th defendant, filed a notice of preliminary objection dated Oct. 18, 2024, supported by a five-paragraph affidavit and a written address.
“In reply to the complainant’s counter-affidavit, we filed our further and better affidavit and reply on point of law dated Feb. 13, 2025, and urge the court to grant the application,” Asdkome said.
The judge, Justice Amina Adamu-Aliyu, granted the application for an extension of time.
Adamu-Aliyu adjourned the matter for ruling on the notices of preliminary objection to a date that would be communicated to the parties at a later date. (NAN)
A former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, has slammed the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government, describing it as the most “corrupt and worst” government in Nigerian history.
El-Rufai, who spoke in an interview with some journalists in Katsina Monday night, said Tinubu’s government is also the most intolerant government since the return of democratic rule in 1999.
He claimed that the Federal Government of President Tinubu is the most lying government that depends on false propaganda, especially on security challenges bedevilling the country.
The erstwhile Kaduna governor, who was in Katsina to condole with Governor Dikko Umaru Radda over the demise of his mother, also refuted the claim by the Federal Government that security has improved in the country.
He added that the insecurity in the country is due to the Federal Government’s failure to proffer deeper solutions to address what he termed the prevailing security challenges from their roots.
He stressed that many local government areas in Katsina, Zamfara and Sokoto States were under the control of bandits, adding that bandits and terrorists’ leaders like Dogo Gide, Mallam Abba and Bello Turji have not been killed.
El-rufia said: “I have said it before, this is the worst Federal Government in Nigerian history and all the indices have shown it. This is the most corrupt and most intolerant government in Nigeria.
“This is the most lying government that depends on false propaganda. They lied that security has improved in Nigeria. They read out numbers of bandits killed except the ones we know are the leading bandits.
“In Kaduna, Dogo Gide is still around, Mallam Abba, the Boko Haram terrorist is still alive. Bello Turji is still around but everyday, they announce names of people that are bandits’ leaders that they have killed and security has improved.
“How many local governments are under the occupation of bandits in Katsina State? How many are occupied by bandits in Zamfara State and some parts of Sokoto State? And because you are in government you think that nothing would happen?”
The former FCT Minister, however, described his new political party, the Social Democratic Party (SDP), as a party with a long history and credibility that will wrest power from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2027.
A prominent loyalist of former Nigerian Vice President and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) 2023 presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar has sharply criticised Bauchi State Governor Bala Muhammed for comments deemed “reckless” and “disrespectful” towards the elder statesman.
Dr. Aslam Aliyu, known as Gimbiyar Kauran Namoda from Zamfara state and one of the mast respected politicians in Nigeria, issued a statement on Tuesday condemning Governor Muhammed’s remarks, which she described as unbecoming of a party leader.
One of Nigeria’s respected female political voices suggested that Atiku is not a politician to be betrayed.
“Atiku Abubakar is not a politician to be undermined by mere political officeholders whose relevance remains confined to their states,” Aliyu said.
Dr Aliyu highlighting the former vice president’s enduring influence since 1999.
She pointed to his service under President Olusegun Obasanjo, his pivotal role in shaping the PDP, and his consistent presence in Nigeria’s political landscape over two decades.
Aliyu accused Muhammed of exposing his “political inexperience” by attempting to diminish Atiku’s stature within the party.
“For a governor who owes his platform to the PDP’s legacy to belittle one of its founding pillars is not just ungrateful—it is dangerous,” she warned.
She stated that when discussing the leaders of the People’s Democratic Party today, after Atiku Abubakar, the next in line is Senator Aminu Tambuwal.
“He demonstrated a spirit of sportsmanship by stepping down for Atiku in 2023 for the sake of northern development.”
She added that if Kaura wishes to resolve the PDP crisis, where was he when Wike and Fubara were at loggerheads over leadership for more than two years? No action was taken until the Governor was suspended and the state was declared a state of emergency .
“If he wants to end the crisis in the PDP, he should first resolve the one in his own state, Bauchi, and also reinstate the Rivers State Governor, Fubara, who is currently suspended.”
The statement urged Muhammed to exercise humility and cautioned that divisive rhetoric threatens the PDP’s unity.
“The PDP stands today because of the loyalty, sacrifice, and vision of men like Atiku Abubakar,” Aliyu declared, calling for mutual respect to safeguard the party’s future.