As controversies over the Tax Reform Bill continue unabated, a group under the auspices of the Independent Media and Policy Initiative (IMPI) has expressed dismay over the development, cautioning the North to drop sentiments held towards the bill.
Recall that the Tax Reform Bill, which is currently before the National Assembly, has been generating diverse reactions from a cross-section of Nigerians, with the northern elites mostly opposing its passage.
The group, comprising intellectuals drawn from the media, including public and private sector players, regretted that opposing voices were causing distractions and hindering the economic attributes of the bill, particularly in terms of revenue generation, enterprise development, and enhancement of citizens’ purchasing power.
While addressing a press conference in Abuja at the weekend, Ahmad Sajoh, a former Commissioner for Information and Strategy in Adamawa State, criticized the North for opposing the bill, lamenting that their fears were mostly unfounded because they had failed over the years to add value to what they produce in the region.
To buttress his position, he said the blood generated from the slaughter of cows is the best by-product for producing fish feed in the world, but it is wasted daily in Nigeria.
According to Sajoh, most of the fears being nursed by the northern elites regarding the bill are baseless, lamenting that the majority of them don’t have empirical arguments to support their opposition to the bill
