By Shadrach Okon
The four Tax Reform Bills before the National Assembly have generated intense debate across Nigeria. The bills which were forwarded to the National Assembly following approval of the Federal Executive Council in October, the Federal Government says are aimed at overhauling the nation’s tax system.
The four bills include: the Nigeria Tax Bill 2024, the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill, and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Bill.
The proposed legislation seeks to consolidate existing tax laws, establish clearer frameworks for tax administration, and create bodies like the Tax Appeal Tribunal and the Office of the Tax Ombudsman.
Interestingly, since the bills were presented at the National Assembly, stakeholders from various ethnic nationalities in the country have spoken either in support or against the four bills before the red chambers. Equally, major sociocultural groups in the nation have also expressed their sentiments on the executive bills.
Recently, the academia joined in contributing to this national discourse. The Academic Staff Union of Universities through her national leadership said it will embark on a strike action if the tax reform bill is implemented for tertiary education institutions. This shows that the bills will affect almost all sectors of the nation’s economy.
As a young man with serious interest in national issues, I have taken about a month now to study the nitty gritty of the Tinubu-led federal government proposed tax reforms which is before the National Assembly.
Beyond the salient issues that the bills seek to address, the proposed fiscal legislation is an eye-opener to me on how retrogressive Nigeria has been, for more than 60 years of independence. It is very clear that we can never make any reasonable progress as a nation without a strong determination to address the abysmal failure of our fiscal policies and chart a new course in our fiscal trajectory.
Therefore, given the plethora of corruption and mismanagement in revenue collection, the envisaged tax reforms which seeks to align the nation’s fiscal policies to international best practices comes at the right time in our national life and should be given consideration by all stakeholders in the nation.
However, what saddens me is the failure of the major sociocultural groups in Akwa Ibom State like Mboho Mkparawa Ibibio, Ati Annang and Oro Union to make any contribution on this national discourse. This is not the first time Akwa Ibom State has refused to speak on national issues. I cannot remember the last time any sociocultural group in Akwa Ibom State has been vibrant in national discourse like we have heard of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the Afenifere of Yoruba and the Arewa Consultative Forum of the North.
It is bad that as a State, we do not have any sociocultural group that can speak as a collective voice of Akwa Ibom people on issues of national relevance. Even our revered Akwa Ibom State Supreme Council of Traditional Rulers that recently wrangled out of her internecine conflict in the State has consistently failed to make contributions when issues of national importance are deliberated in the nation.
What could be more befitting to Akwa Ibom State Supreme Council of Traditional Rulers than to consistently make her voice heard on issues of national relevance?
As a people, we should know that some sociocultural groups that have contributed to the proposed tax reforms discourse are not doing so because they feel their contributions should be taken more serious than others, but because they want to be heard and considered relevant in the nation.
A vibrant public debate is the badge of a healthy democracy and federalism in praxis favours the vocal minority than the silent majority.
