TUC to Nigerians: Don’t politicise tax reform bills

Festus Osifo, the president of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), has cautioned Nigerians against politicising the tax reform bills.

On October 3, President Bola Tinubu presented four tax reform bills to the national assembly for deliberations and passage.

The bills—the Nigeria tax bill, the Nigeria Tax Administration bill, the Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment bill, and the Joint Revenue Board Establishment bill—have become a subject of controversy.

The bills, which have passed the second reading in the Senate, face opposition from the Northern States Governors Forum (NSGF), which is calling for the equitable and fair implementation of national policies and programmes across all regions.

Speaking on Thursday on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Osifo defended the bills and noted that the concerns raised by some Nigerians were expected.

The TUC president urged Nigerians not to introduce tribalism into the debate about the adoption of the bills.

“Those undertones are clearly there. It started from the Northern Governors Forum; it metamorphosed into the General Governors’ Forum, and it went into the National Economic Council,” Osifo said.

“At this stage of our development, we should be wary. We shouldn’t politicise everything. Bringing in tribal talks or ethnicity, I don’t think this is right.”