Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) calls on Northern leaders to prioritize national growth over ethnic interests in discussions on tax reform bills. Learn more about HURIWA’s stance and its implications for economic development.
HURIWA, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, has urged
the Northern governors and senators should concentrate on economically liberating and empowering their communities.
The call was made amidst a division among National Assembly members, who are split along regional lines regarding the Tax Reform Bills recently proposed by President Bola Tinubu.
Additionally, the rights group
urged Nigerian senators and members of the House of Representatives to focus on merit-based discussions about the new tax reform bills, aiming to understand their long-term impacts—both positive and negative—instead of sparking ethnic and regional tensions over the issue.
The group, in a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, urged those who oppose the bills to enumerate their reasons supported by scientific evidence and statistics rather than relying on ethnic or regional biases.
HURIWA expressed that discussions about the proposed tax reform bills should not be diminished to complicated political drama.
The President, on September 3, sent four tax reform bills to the National Assembly for review.
The bills in question are the Nigeria Tax Bill 2024, aimed at establishing the fiscal framework for taxation within the country, and the Tax Administration Bill, designed to offer a clear and concise legal structure for all taxes nationwide while minimizing disputes.
Other bills include the Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Bill, aimed at repealing the Federal Inland Revenue Service Act and creating the Nigeria Revenue Service. Additionally, there’s the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill designed to set up a tax tribunal and a tax ombudsman.
According to DAILY POST, the primary focus of the debate is a proposed shift towards a derivation-based model for distributing Value Added Tax. This new approach would allocate tax revenue to the states where goods and services are consumed instead of where companies have their headquarters.
The 19 northern governors and traditional rulers have outrightly rejected the bills for unscientific reasons.
The governors, operating under the Northern Governors’ Forum, opposed the newly proposed derivation-based model for VAT distribution. They argued that the contents of these bills did not serve the interests of the North and other regional entities.
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In a similar vein, the National Economic Council, led by Vice-President Kashim Shettima, advised withdrawing the bills to enable broader consultations and consensus-building.
However, Tinubu emphasized that the National Assembly should be permitted to handle the bills.
Although the bills have yet to be presented for a second reading, where their principles will be debated, some lawmakers have already expressed differing opinions.
In a recent interview, Senator Ali Ndume (APC, Borno South) expressed his opposition to the bills and pledged to rally other northern lawmakers against them.
In a recent statement, Senator Ogoshi Onawo from Nasarawa South opposed the bills, arguing that it was unjust for the government to keep imposing taxes on Nigerians who were struggling with economic difficulties.
In response to the development, HURIWA criticized what it called the ethnic framing of discussions surrounding the proposed tax reform bills, particularly by Northern political elites.
In the organized human rights community in Nigeria, we sincerely hope that the discussions will be healthy and robustly concentrate on evidence, benefits, strengths, and weaknesses.
If any part of the proposed tax reform bills threatens the survival of Nigeria’s poorest citizens, those parts should be adjusted to prevent excessively burdening them.
Opposing the tax reform bills based on regional interests rather than national priorities is completely unwarranted. We should focus more on what unites us instead of frequently returning to old political divisions for ethnic gain.
